The Prodigal Son: You?

Luk 15:11-24  And he said, A certain man had two sons:  (12)  And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.  (13)  And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.  (14)  And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.  (15)  And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  (16)  And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.  (17)  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  (18)  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,  (19)  And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.  (20)  And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.  (21)  And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.  (22)  But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:  (23)  And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:  (24)  For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

This is a story we all have heard many times in our lives, where Jesus is telling how great the joy of God and the angels in heaven when a sinner repents. We read it, nod, internally agree, and move on, knowing and thanking God that we ourselves *aristocratic look as we straighten collar* would never do such a heinous thing as to run off with our father's hard earned money and hang out with prostitutes and such crowd. Thank God for making us so much holier than that poor gutter waif with no scruples! 

Well, that's what we think of ourselves most days if we really stop to think about it. While we may never even dream of running off and living with prostitutes, the underlying heart matter that started his escapade into the land of lawlessness, comes with the territory if you are a human. (Any humans out there?.... Can I see a show of hands?) 

Ah good, you are at least honest. : )   

I think this story has potential that we may have never realized unless we dig deep into it, and see how much this story applies to us in our lives. Now, I don't want you to read this, give me your aristocratic look and check off your chart of how you are such a good child, and go off in your hypocritical state thinking you have achieved a higher state of Godliness than that poor oaf. 

I want you to analyse how you are like that poor oaf, and what you can do to be less like him and more like Christ. After all, that's the main goal in life right? Being like Christ? 

Lets analyse the story to see the in depth heart motives a quick skim-over would miss. 

15:11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:  (12)  And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 

Ok, so Joe is living in a family - that much is obvious by the fact that he has a dad and a brother. We assume that this is a relatively normal family - dad leading, and even though mom isn't mentioned, we assume she is the stay-at-home helper, and sons are being raised in the "fear and admonition of the Lord." 

Sounds rather familiar. Good looking family, doing everything right, teaching everything right. On the outside, a good, God honoring family. 

However, just because one lives in the perfect family, doesn't mean that ones heart is with the family and following God. How many times have we heard stories (or have been one yourself) where the "good kid" in the family runs off as soon as he is out from under mom and dads authority and all of a sudden is a heathen doing things we never even thought he knew about? That "good kid" on the outside was a fire-breathin' heathen on the inside, who acted right for the mere threat of punishment if he didn't comply. 

So, Joe appears to be one of those cases, since, after all, how many of us who actually are following Gods commands and are loving God and our family go to our dad, ask for our portion of the money that is due us when we get the inheritance?

So he is obviously not with the group on the inside. He wants his money to do as he pleases with it. Now, maybe he thinks he has good reasons for it, but on the whole, he is not happy with life, and is thinks that this will make his day. Lets go to the next section of verses. 

 (13)  And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

So, Joe's got his dough, and he is exuberant in the knowledge that he got his way in what he wanted - for once, he is telling himself. 

So now that he realizes he can do as he pleases, he starts to look around at the outside world that always looked so good, but has never been allowed to enjoy. Oh glory, that looks like some serious fun! He knows that his dad wont stop him now that he has given him his inheritance, and gathering his things, heads out into the big exciting world to enjoy himself in all the things he has been told to stay away from. Now, he lives the life.  He is doing ALL the things he always wanted to do and oh yeah is it fun! 

Next verses.

(14)  And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

Oh, now Joe realizes that wallets have bottoms to them, and so do his pockets, and he is now broke. Then, to top it all off, now there is a famine, and everything goes on a food and money crunch. Nobody can pay to hire him, and nobody can give him food. He blocks out the idea of going back to his dad. Oh no, he is on his own now. Aint going back to that old buzzard and his old fogey ways. So what does he do?   

(15)  And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  (16)  And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.  

So he decides he has to work for a living, and he doesn't get everything free. Oh. Um. I think dad said that once. 

Anyway, he has to work. Well, the "citizen" is probably not much better off than he is, and the only thing he can send him to do is to go feed his hogs. He can't pay him, he can't feed him, but he could sure use the help. 

So Joe is now upgraded to "pig-boy" and has the job to feed these roly-poly porkers.

Feed. Oh, he can't bear the thought. He desperately needs food, and if he could bear it, he would have helped himself to the pigs food, just to ease those bone-wrenching aches his stomach is producing.

Back then, those who took care of and fed hogs were considered the lowest of the low. Scum dirt bottom. If you were out playing with the piggies, you were the lowest type of humanity on earth. So, going out and feeding pigs is quite the humbling job. A good shock of down-to-earth 2x4-'tween-the-eyes humble pie dealt straight to Joe tax exempt and free of charge. 

  (17)  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  (18)  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,  (19)  And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

Then, as we all do at one point or another when we are in sin, we step back and view our situation and the circumstances that got us here. He thinks of all the food that he used to have, and even his servants had plenty of food. He thinks of what his dad was always telling him. How you are blessed when you obey God and those he has put over you. How all those things of the outside world he was always told would never satisfy - never really satisfy. Piece by piece, he realizes how wrong he was and how right his dad was.

(Anybody been there? *raising hand, head down*)

Wow, he's bombed it. Now what? Going back and fessin up that he was wrong seems like the absolute worst thing to do on planet earth - but staying here and starving soon showed itself to be far worse still.

So he decides to go home.

Now, he knows his dad is going to be awful cranky at him when he gets back - how could he not be? How will he explain that he is really repentant, and have his dad believe him? Surely he would disown him - its almost a happened fact that he will. Maybe, just maybe, he will let him come back and live with him in peace if he works as a mere slave for his room and board. After all, that's about all he is worth now - no true son deserts his father and runs with his money. Ouch. What a chunk to swallow.

(20)  And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.  (21)  And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

So, biting the bullet and swallowing more pride than he ever thought possible to have, he leaves the roly-polys and heads for home.

The road home never seems so long as when you are hungry and tired. Every step of the way his stomach growled louder and his feet hurt more. Finally, at last, he is within sight of home. Here it comes - the fateful moment.

Then, horror of horrors, his dad sees him and comes running up to greet him. Oh no, surely he was so mad he is gonna beat the tar out of his son. He was so mad he didn't even have time to grab something - he is gonna light into him with his bare fists.

He closes his eyes and waits for the painful moment. 

But then, to his utter amazement, his father grasps him in a bear hug, glad beyond all words to see him back. 

After the initial shock of actually being wanted home, his conscience kicks in. 

Oh yes, not worthy to be son. Must be servant.

He gasps out the words, and waits for his father to step back, nod and look disappointed.  

 (22)  But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:  (23)  And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:  (24)  For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

His dad doesn't though. He calls his servants, decks out the house, gets the best food around, and parties. Parties for the son who came back, and had done him so much harm, but loves him just as much anyway.

Anyway, that's the story. It's amazing what we can learn about life and repentance from that story. No matter how bad we think we are, God is merciful. Where sin abounds, grace abounds. 

So, how are you like that son? Ever gotten mad at your parents and thought they were making poor decisions? Ever thought you could do a much better job by yourself, and could get along much better if they would just leave well-enough-alone? That's where this one guys entire trip started - way down at the heart. 

Ok, let me make this easier for you. 

Yes, you have thought that, if you are human and even sorta maybe kinda halfway-even-close like me. I'm almost positive you are. I'm pretty average when it comes to being a big 'ole sinner, and you probably are too.  

So, guys, girls, don't let you fool yourself. You wouldn't do a better job, and that's why you are here learning from them. God has you exactly where he wants you, and he has put the exact people in your life to stretch you and to grow you to be more like him and less like sinful 'ole you. 

Imagine if the son hadn't ran away. Imagine if he had stuck through it, learned to tough it, man up, learn from his parents mistakes and learn to be patient and trust God along the way. It would be a totally different guy at the other end of the story, now wouldn't it? Instead of him coming back broke, guilty, and broken-hearted, leaving a path of destruction in his wake, he might have been sent out into the world a few years later with money in his pockets, a heart humble and following after God, his fathers blessing on him, ready to handle and face the temptations of the world. 

So folks, next time you are really ticked off your beat, stop and think about what happens if you harbor those thoughts, and take that path to where it ends. Instead, Man/Woman up, take on what you have to do in life with all you got, all for the Glory of God.

Feeding pigs included.