Home part 3
I said there were two pictures of someone realizing that the grass ISN'T greener on the other side. We looked at the Love Slave. The man who COULD leave his master's house, but chose NOT to. He nailed his ear to the door and heard the heartbeat of God. Now we look at a parable Jesus told. Commonly known as the Prodigal Son. The son DID leave his father's house, because he thought the grass was greener. He wanted what the world had to offer. Took his inheritance early--basically telling his father, "I wish you were dead, because you're worth more to me dead than alive"--and squandered it. Then, when he hit rock bottom, he had this revelation: "When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, 'At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!" (Luke 15:17 NLT). The King James version says, "When he came to himself." When he came to the END of himself. When he did what he could with what he had--which wasn't much at all--he remembered how good it was in his father's house. Even his father's servants had it better than the son himself. So he hatched a plan to go join the workforce. To leave as a son, and return as a servant. He was having an identity crisis because he felt like he was at the end of his rope. And then look at what happened when he came back home: "So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him" (Luke 15:20 NLT). Daddy ran out to meet him! He didn't hold a grudge. And he didn't receive him as a servant. Daddy said, "'for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.' So the party began" (Luke 15:24 NLT). See... it's not about earning anything. It's about life and death. Jesus didn't come to give us a way to earn what we desired. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. And when a son (Son) returns from the dead... it's cause for a celebration. The party began! A homecoming party! That which was lost had been found. And the only one with a grudging attitude was the older brother, who thought of himself as the "good son" but was all fired up because Daddy never threw HIM a party. What he didn't realize was, "His father said to him, 'Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours'" (Luke 15:31 NLT). When we live in Daddy's house... what's His... is ours. The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. We don't have to beg for it, or try to earn it, or anything like that. It's all ours. The inheritance, passed down from Father to Son. Everything He has and everything He is. Home is where the heart is, right? And it's Father God's heart beating with love in our chests. That's why the grass ISN'T greener on the other side. That's why we can choose not to leave Daddy's house... or we can come back and He will accept us with open arms. Because love doesn't give up on people. Love never fails because it (HE) endures. In my family we kind of have a motto: Family is forever. We're stuck with each other. And that's not a bad thing, that's a good thing. That's the best thing. Because no matter what... we have somewhere to go. No matter how bad it gets... family is waiting for us at home!