Devotional: July 2008

Life With the Pigs
Luke 15:11-24

It’s the familiar story we call the parable of the prodigal son.  A man had two sons.  The younger one decided he wanted to collect his inheritance before his father’s death.  So, the father handed out a chunk of change and the son hit the road.  When he got where he was going, he proceeded to waste “his substance with riotous living” (v. 13).  In other words, he became a wild child, living “the good life”: no one to tell him what to do or how or when to do it.   

He soon ran out of money, though, and on top of that, the country he was in fell on hard times.  All of a sudden, the tables turned.  He had to get a job feeding pigs--quite a contrast to the life he had had at his father’s house!  Not only did he feed the pigs, but also he was so hungry that he would have gladly eaten the pig food, but no one offered him any. 

His mind began to wander back to when he lived at dear old Dad’s.  Even his dad’s servants had more than enough to eat and here he was out in the world, alone, living in the hog pen!  Verse 17 says that the man came to his senses, decided to humbly repent, and beg his father to hire him as a servant, because he no longer felt worthy to be his son.  He did just that and the short version of the finale is that his father compassionately welcomed him with open arms and threw a huge party to celebrate his return. 

It comes down to a couple of decisions.  The son first decided to leave the father’s house, then decided that his new life was not all it was cracked up to be.  It was fun at first, but that’s how the world is.  You might have a blast for a time (Hebrews 11:25), but there is a cruel end to the road that leads away from God’s path for you.  It’s not because God wants our lives to be miserable and completely lacking fun.  He actually wants good things for His children and that’s why He sets forth specific guidelines for us to follow.   

I’ve met people that have been offered the lifeline of grace to escape the devil’s grip, but instead choose to stay in the familiar surroundings of the hog pen.  They would rather wallow in the mud of sorrow and self-pity, blaming God for circumstances they created themselves than to rise up, come to their senses and realize that their loving Father is waiting right where they left Him.  God will not force you to come to him just as you don’t see the father in the story racing to the hog pen to drag his son back home.  Instead, he counted on his son remembering what he left behind to draw him back, just as God’s goodness is what draws us to repentance (Romans 2:4). 

It’s your decision, so what’s it going to be?  Hog slop or a feast at the Father’s table?  Nightmares in the pigpen or restful slumber at home?  A pity party of one or a well-attended celebration fit for a king? 

Sonya