"When he came to his senses... Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you." Luke 15:17
OBSERVATION:
When he came to his senses he smelled stink, he saw a pig pen, he heard snorting and oinking, he felt... alone. A Jewish boy standing by a hog trough longing to eat what he saw them eating, but he couldn't even get any of that.
Up until this moment his senses were dulled by the deafening sound of... SELF. It was louder than anything else, more captivating then anything else, and more desirable than anything else. Self had led him to this day. Self had wanted what it wanted when it wanted it... NOW! No waiting, certainly no patience and not once ounce of self control. Self had said "if I get what I want, when I want it that will be...??? "well, self was not sure what would happen but Self still wanted it. It would be pleasing, it would take the edge off, it would satisfy? But Self, left the boy in a place he would never consider being... alone with himself.
Sin will take us further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you can afford. And for this young son it had stripped him of all dignity and hope.
Except for one thing... the Father. There was hope there. And the son knew that at minimum he would do better than he was doing at the moment. Even as a slave in his father's house.
So, he practices his speech. It's reminiscent of Joseph when he ran away from Potiphar's wife..."I can not sin against my God nor my master Potiphar. In other words our sins not only offend God's laws but they hurt people. The son's repentance was clear. His understanding of what awaited him was not at all on his radar. That would be a surprise. A stealth grace bomb. All he knew is that he was leaving his stinky, messy, noisy, lonely place to go...HOME!
APPLICATION:
Wow. And double wow! Such grace demonstrated by the Father-- available to all who will repent and come home.
"O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."
PRAYER:
Father Thank YOU, for the overwhelming measure of your welcoming grace. When we come to our senses and start back home YOU are on the road to welcome us the rest of the way in--- I love you!
