Coming Home

The young man really had everything anyone could hope for. He was financially secure. He had a father who loved him. And he had a future mapped out before him. But it wasn’t enough. So one day he approaches his dad, says he’s leaving and asks for his fair share of the estate. His father obliges and off he goes.

As he walks away I’m sure the young man felt something he’d never felt before…freedom. Finally, he was free from his obligations. He was free from his father’s rules. He was free from the life that was shackling his true potential. He would soon show everyone what he was really capable of becoming if he only had the freedom to make his own decisions.

You’ve heard the story before. (Luke 15:11-32) The young man soon blows through his money like a hurricane hitting the gulf coast. Like the country song says, “All the muchachas they call me big poppa when I through pesos their way.” But when the money runs out so do the friends. Or as the country song continues, “The senoritas don’t care-o when there’s no deniro.” (Toes, Zac Brown Band)

Soon, the young man’s quest for control left him broken, starving…and homeless. His life was a cheap imitation of what it once was. Heck, even his father’s slaves lived better than he was. Oh, how he would love to be back home again…But how do you get back home when you’ve burned so many bridges?

Well, first the young man had to “come to his senses.” (Lk. 15:17) He had to acknowledge that he’d screwed up. He had sinned. His rebellion against the father led to his current misery. That’s something we all can understand, can’t we? (Rom. 3:23)
Next, he had to make the decision to return to the Father (18). It wouldn’t be easy returning to the place where he’d cause so much pain but even the lowliest servants in the presence of the Master were living life a whole lot better than he was.

Yes, he would go back to the Father and fall on his face and say, “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” (18-19) He could only hope that his Father could find some way to forgive him. (I John 1:9)
But never in a million years could he have imagined he would see his Father running toward him with tears in his eyes. He had been waiting for him to come home. The young man tried to apologize. He got out the part about not being worthy to be called his son but the old man cut him off. He was immediately forgiven and there was no way the Father would ever treat a son like a hired servant. (Jn. 3:16, Rom. 8:15-17)

The tough part now for the son was accepting the Father’s forgiveness. It seemed almost impossible to comprehend. After all, he had hurt him. He had rebelled against the one who loved him the most, chosen his own way and realized the consequences. (Jer. 2:13) But the Father had never given up. (Rom. 5:8) He prayed for his return. Though the fellowship was severed the relationship remained. And when the Father spied him from far away his prayers were answered. The son was home.

Home, they say, is where the heart is. It’s easy to allow our hearts to be wrapped around “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life.” (I Jn. 2:16) All the stuff we don’t have sure looks a lot better than the stuff we do have, you know. But none of that stuff’s not from the Father and it will soon leave us “chasing after the wind” like King Solomon said or broken like the prodigal son. Neither option sounds very good.

I’d prefer to wrap my heart around the home that, right now, Jesus is readying for my return. (Jn. 14:2-3)