A PRODIGAL ON HIS WAY HOME!
""...his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him...for this my son was dead and is alve again; he was lost and is found..." Luke 15:20, 24
My son is coming home! He has been gone for a very long time, and I have waited every day longingly looking down the road and waiting till I saw him from a great ways away and then knew - he was on his way home! Have you ever experienced something like this? Maybe a runaway child? If so, you know the feeling. Until that child returns you remember the anquish and agony you felt of not knowing where he or she was and what was going on in their life. You just wanted them home.
How is this lost young man found in the story recorded in Luke 15? It is not the result of some great spiritual revelation. The young man finally "comes to himself," which simply suggests that he makes a wise choice. He makes the decision, "This is stupid! I don't need to live like this."
A couple of truths to consider in this story are: 1) You and I have a home in God. When we're lost, it's because we have strayed from the place we were meant to be. 2) Jesus is aggressively looking for us. The Gospels show us how the Shepherd pictured is one who is actively looking for the lost sheep. It's an extraordinary and powerful image.
Jesus always seeks us out in our lostness. Being found is simply coming home, finding our roots once again, or for the first time. We must have some sense of our true home in order to be aware of being lost. If you know you are lost, have been lost, and will be lost in the future, it's a gift. That awareness is a prerequisite for coming home.
Many times we are lost and don't even know it. That's tragic! We do not have any awareness of lostness.
If you look at the world you might be disappointed and say, "Is this all there is?" And the Father says, "Of course not. Come home!"
