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"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.'"
(Luke 15:17-19)
The prodigal son hit rock bottom before he began to look up for help. His decision to leave home, travel to a far country, and live the life of a prodigal had finally caught up with him. His life had been reduced to ashes. What are ashes? They come from something that has been burned, broken, or destroyed. Ashes are mere remnants of what used to be. When anyone walks away from or outside of God's will, it looks fun at first, but it eventually crumbles to ashes.
He went to a far country, that is, he went outside of God's will. The prodigal son had so much at the beginning of the story but ended up bankrupt, not only physically and monetarily, but also morally and spiritually. He wasted it all. But his motive was to enjoy life and be free; that was going to be "the life".
In Dr. Stanley's message on the prodigal son, he taught that sin eats away at us and is self-destructive; we may not see it at first, but it is there. He used the example of termites that sneak into the wall and cannot be seen. Maybe a year passes, and all looks well at first, until you see the crack and realize that those creatures have filled the wall of the house and eaten the inside out. Many people are like this on the inside of their souls. They live a life of sin and disobedience and have it their way. They pursue things outside God's will, and it starts a process of destruction.
I was in India visiting with a family, and they told me they had a cobra get loose, and they could not find it... and get this: it was loose in their house! I could not concentrate for the rest of that visit knowing that the snake was hiding out in that house! Unseen but very real, like the termites in the wall: you cannot see it at first but eventually you will.
But I have great news for us: Jesus is stronger! He wants us to trust in Him and receive the victory. 1 John 4:4 states: "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
God's ways are always best. They are not the easiest but always the best. We can pursue our plans and desires, or we can do what God calls us to do and live our lives for Him. Proverbs 14:12 states: "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." Matthew 6:33 says: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
Tomorrow we will look at the return of the prodigal son. It is a glorious ending to an amazing story.
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