17 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'
Our prodigal is finally beginning to get it. Sense is certainly a welcomed player on the scene. Sometimes our conditions are down so low the only direction for us to look from that pig pen is up - and look up is exactly what our protagonist does. God always listens to the cry of the destitute. Scripture tells us:
17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea. Psalms 102:17 (NIV)
It is only when we are so full of ourselves that God, like the Father in the parable above, has wisdom to show restraint - for our own best interest and benefit I might add. I am certain he could have sent his servants with food to fill our prodigal’s growling stomach but what good would that have done? It would have been certain that he would have ended up with a foolish, full, and perpetually discontented offspring on his hands! Scripture tells us that the earth trembles under such a one as this:
21 "Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up: 22 a servant who becomes king, a fool who is full of food, 23 an unloved woman who is married, and a maidservant who displaces her mistress. Prov 30:21-23 (NIV)
Remember, too, it is the broken and contrite heart that God always welcomes:
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalms 51:17 (NIV)
God desires for us to be totally spent of ourselves in order that we may have room to be filled with His glory through the precious Holy Spirit. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians:
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Cor 3:17-18 (NIV)
The more there is of us, the less there is of Him. This is not a good thing by the way! Just like John the Baptist states so clearly:
30 He must become greater; I must become less. John 3:30 (NIV)
This is the divine order of things and it is also the order that is so glorious for us. Like our prodigal in our parable today, we are certainly the big losers when we choose our own way over God’s. Sadly, it seems that we constantly have to repeat the learning of that difficult lesson. As our prodigal is now empty, he becomes ripe for the filling. There is a wonderful verse in Jeremiah that speaks so sweetly regarding repentance – which is exactly what this younger son is doing next – turning back to the Father:
19 Therefore this is what the LORD says: "If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; Jer 15:19 (NIV)
What I think is so extremely cool about this verse is that repent and restore are the exact same words in Hebrew meaning to turn back, to turn around, to return; it essentially denotes the movement back to the point of departure. Adam (man) started out with God and it is God’s desire for us to return. He has not moved away from us, we have moved from Him. What I find to be such a wonderful blessing from Him in this verse is that if I willingly turn to Him, He will willingly bring me home. If I turn, He will turn me! Hallelujah!
“I have asked you to give, in order that I may bless you more. I have challenged you to pray, so that I may respond and help you. I have asked you to rejoice, in order to keep you from being swallowed up by anxieties. I have asked you to be humble, to protect you from the calamities that fall upon the proud. I have asked you to forgive, in order to make your heart fit to receive My forgiveness. I have asked you not to love the world, for I would have you released from unnecessary entanglements, free to follow Me. Holiness is not a feeling – it is the end product of obedience. Purity is not a gift – it is the result of repentance and serious pursuit of God.” Frances J. Roberts