The Word - April 16, 2012 - THE RETURN OF A REBEL

"When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ' At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare; I will go to my father and say; father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and am no longer worthy of being called your son" (Luke 15:17-18).
Read the entire story in Like 15:11-32.

Have you ever tried to run away? I am quite sure most of us have had such a desire, at least to run away at one time or another. If we could just get away from our duties and responsibilities at home. If we could just stop up our ears from hearing the Lord tell us what to "put off and put on." If only we could just have a time to do what our flesh urges us to do and "do our own thing." Sound familiar?

In a very practical way the story of the runaway son in Luke 15 shows us that running away does not pay. The life of the rebel is never really free. Running away from problems and authority brings only short-lived freedom, and invariably results in more frustration than before.

Real freedom only comes when we begin to deal with the root cause of our desire to runaway. The root cause of our problem is always related to our relationship with God. We run because we are unwilling to submit to the authority or handle the specific tasks the Lord has placed in our lives.

We desire to live for ourselves and squander away the precious time and talents that God has given us. We simply don't want to be subject to God. We'd rather "get what is ours" and enjoy ourselves in our own way in "the far country."

There comes a time in the rebel's life when the running stops. With the knowledge of emptiness and hunger in our souls comes the realization of how miserable we really are. So we come: "Father, I have sinned." Why is there no reprimand? The father is so overjoyed the son never even gets to finish his confession.

Why? Because it is a picture of God's tremendous love and unbelievable plan of salvation for us. It is through the death of Christ for us that our rebellious actions and attitudes are forgiven, our place in God's family restored, and a never-ending celebration and intimate communion with God begun!