Come to Yourself and Turn (Part I of II)
By Chris Voss
A certain young man had a father who gave him a warm and safe home, food to eat, and most of all his love and loyalty. The young man could have lived happily ever after, but he did not like the house rules. He wanted to be on his own.
The father thought otherwise; he knew the young man needed more maturity and respect for boundaries. The father was convinced His son would only be at odds with himself, utterly unhappy with a freedom that knew no fear, limits, or concern for others. But life’s mysteries were calling out to the young man, who thought he was missing out on the best life had to offer. He must find himself now, he thought; there comes a time to be completely free. The boy demanded his inheritance. After all, he argued, it’s mine; I have it coming to me. So the father gave his son the share of the inheritance that belonged to him. And without gratefulness to his father, the son left town, trying to put as much distance between himself and his father.
He spent lavishly and threw himself into the company of trendy friends, but something did not seem quite right. A persistent melancholy hounded him, a dreary sameness, a monotony he could not get rid of. The more unhappy he became, the more he diverted himself by celebrating even harder.
He ran out of money and friends. He had neither morality nor modesty. And when his hunger drove the young man to eat food meant for pigs, something marvelous and life-changing occurred within the young man’s inner reasonings or his soul.
Luke 15:17, But when the young man came to himself (his senses) he said, “How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and even some to spare, and I perish here with hunger.”
Like this young man, in my life and yours, there have come times of finally knowing and understanding what to do and say after much tribulation and many trials of the spirit. I believe in every life there are those defining moments or experiences that take one’s life down this road or that road. Life-changing situations that finally cause you, like this young man, to “come to yourself” (to your senses).
One day this young man remembered his father’s house and its joy. He remembered the good things: the love, the warmth; the knowledge that he belonged there. He knew then he was homesick; he had to go home. And so he turned toward home. He deliberately and conscientiously changed directions, and instead of drifting farther and farther from home, the young man was going home, where his father was anxiously awaiting his return.
Next time: Eternal words from Jesus concerning turning around the direction of our lives, considered, in the conclusion to “Come to Yourself and Turn.”
-----------------
Like on Facebook: firstchristianchurchdonnatexas.
---------------
Chris Voss is a pastor at First Christian Church, 317 S. Main, Donna.