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Avoiding the Path of the Prodigal (Part 2)
“Come near to God and he will come near to you” ~ James 4:8 (NIV)
Let us continue our reflections on the prodigal son and the effect of the distance he sought to keep from the Father:
Emptiness is the biggest trouble that the man who draws away from the Father faces. The bible tells us that the prodigal son “longed to fill his stomach”. In spite of our multitude of toys when we begin to keep a distance from the Father a yawning gap arises within, which cannot be filled by anything else. Men try to fill it with all types of things – TV or food, increased activities or religion, friends or sex, wealth or many other things. But it doesn’t work, for only God can fill it.
But thank God that this son came to his senses through the things he suffered. C. S. Lewis says, pain is God’s trumpet for getting man’s attention. Sometimes the reason God allows trouble into our lives is to get our attention, but often that is the last thing he gets. We would rather run up and down trying to quench the fire through the arm of flesh than wait and listen to God. I have learnt that when trials come the question to ask is not “Why, Lord?” but rather, “What, Lord are you saying to me?”
Finally, when the son returned home the father said, “Let’s have a feast and celebrate”. Christianity is essentially a life of celebration. It is not a gloomy life of bondage to rules. This was what this prodigal son did not understand about the Father in the first place, and that made him run away. This is the reason too that many today are satisfied with a shallow relationship with God and are not passionately pursuing a life of total consecration to Him. They have not understood that the Father’s call to die to self is also a call to live the abundant life.
It was also this lack of understanding of this call to celebration that hindered the older son from celebrating even though he had obediently stayed back home. Sometimes we are obedient but not cheerful and this robs us of power. It is only those who are willing and obedient that eat the good of the land. God always loves a cheerful giver especially when it comes to giving him obedience. When we catch a glimpse of the Father’s heart we realise that we are not servants but sons. Everything he has is ours. We obey, not just because we have to, but because we know he loves us and seeks our best interest. We are happy to obey because we trust him. We obey because we love him. Christianity is a celebration of love. He loved us first and now we love him. Christianity is a continuous feast of consecration.
I want to encourage you to draw near to the Father. Do not allow any distance between you and him. Receive a revelation of his love for you and begin to make him your delight. Rejoice in the Lord and enjoy the Father. Live life to its fullest for we are called to keep a continuous feast in Christ.
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Avoiding the Path of the Prodigal (Part 1)
“The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble” Proverbs 4:19 (NIV)
The story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-31) is quite fascinating no matter where it is told. I remember the rapt attention I received once when I tried to explain the love of God to a Muslim in a village in Northern Nigeria by telling him this story. Nothing else but the extraordinary love of the Father could have given it the kind of ending that it has. A while ago I had some reflections on this story which threw some sidelights on some important truths. I will share some of these this week and more next week.
I noticed that the son did not tell the father why he wanted his share of the estate when he asked for it. It was only after he had secured it that he took off. Perhaps he didn’t want anybody asking too many questions. His attitude was “I know my right and so I don’t need to explain anything to anybody”. We must beware of fighting too hard for our right to our privacy. We need to be willing to be accountable to others around us. It’s a fallacy to think we can have fellowship without accountability.
Too many believers attend fellowship meetings without having any real fellowship with the brethren. You can’t hide behind the wall of your-right-to-your-privacy and have true fellowship. It is only “… if we walk in the light (that) we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus purifies us” (1 John 1:7 – NIV). Don’t feel you can do anything you want to do without needing to give account to anybody. That kind of freedom breeds trouble. God did not put you within the community of believers where you are presently, by mistake. Don’t get upset when those you are in fellowship with question your actions. Transparency and accountability are key ingredients of Christian fellowship.
The prodigal son went from a life of security in the father’s house to a life of wastefulness in a distant land. He went from the place of abundance in the father’s house to a place of emptiness in the pigpen. This is always where the pursuit of freedom from the Father leads to: emptiness, purposelessness and powerlessness. You can’t keep your distance from the Father and get to where you ought to go. I encourage you to set your heart to pursue increasing intimacy with the Father. Don’t allow any cloud between you and the Father. Be resolute like David and say, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Ps 23:6)
But it was not obvious at the first stage of his descent that he was on the way down, because he was surrounded with all that money could buy. Yet as soon as he took his first step away from the father he was on the way down. In the same way it is not often obvious to many that they are dying spiritually because they are surrounded by material comfort. Or it may be that they have the comfort of their Christian activities and position in Church. We must beware of measuring our spiritual health by the wrong parameters. It takes the help of God to be able to see our true state. And one of the ways by which God helps us is to use those in fellowship with us to speak into our lives. Indeed this is one of the reasons why we need the transparency and accountability of fellowship. For those who love us and with whom we are walking in the light can often see before we do, that all is not well.
So to avoid the path of the prodigal we must stay in the path of fellowship with the saints.