|
The Prodigal Son travellerd abroad seeking to fulfil his hopes and expectations. His initial delight turned sour as his money ran out. His friends disappear. Now he is sitting in a pig-sty. He is a symbol of all of us who have used our inheritance, our minds, our bodies, our soul....to ensure that as much of creation as possible should praise, reverence and serve us. Contemplating him in the pig-sty can put us in touch with our own inner emptiness.
The prodigal son decides to return home not from any high and honourable motive, but simply because he is hungry and desperate. This is a most consoling truth. His father is watching for him and rushes out to meet him, not because the son is virtuous, nor because his motives are pure, but simply because he is his son and has returned home. All that we have to do is to admit our own emptiness to God and He rushes out to meet us.
Linger on this truth because this means letting God be God, whereas our tendency is to want to put ourselves in order before we meet Him. Our problem is that we tend to be more conscious of our guilt than of His goodness.
Realise that this truth is happening to you now; that you are embraced and kissed by the Father who delights in you.
Let this truth break your unbelief and speak to the Father from your heart with the simplicity of a child.
Gerard W Hughes
God of Surprises
|
