Yesterday at church, the teaching was on the parable of the prodigal son.
The prodigal son seems full of life, bound by the shackles of responsibility and constrained by the need for humanity, reliability and stability. Living life as a consumer reigned supreme. After all, life is about personal fulfillment.
Or is it?
His "passion" for life and the squandering away of his inheritance for the sake of good times left him starving and sleeping with the pigs.
Can you imagine how you'd feel at your warm reception after an out and out rebellion? I imagine a profound state of gratitude and humility. I imagine it would be life changing. I imagine a deeper level of maturity forged in the fires of adversity. I imagine the lust for pleasure being exposed for what it is: meaninglessness and poverty.
The pattern of the prodigal is:
rebellion,
ruin,
repentance,
reconciliation,
restoration.
~ Edwin Louis Cole
“Never cease loving a person, and never give up hope for him, for even the prodigal son who had fallen most low, could still be saved; the bitterest enemy and also he who was your friend could again be your friend; love that has grown cold can kindle”
~ Soren Kierkegaard
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