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THUS SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS: "Return to Me... and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts. Zecariah 1:3 God's call always rings through the centuries. And it is always the same to those who knew Him once and turned away. "Return to Me...and I will return to you." The call rings loud and clear to the Church and to America today. "Return to Me." The Church? Yup. If the apostle Paul were to visit the average church today, he wouldn't be a happy camper. Indeed, he might even fail to recognize it as a church as a church at all. Many churches are not much more than a social club led by men who refuse to proclaim Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, lest they offend one of the wealthy givers. Yes, God's call rings true, "Return to Me." America? I doubt that many of us would deny that one. America has been used by God to do what no other nation has ever done. We sent the Word of God around the globe -- and into outer space. We set the pattern for Christian living for the rest of the world. Our moral standard was the envy of men and women in every city and village in every country. Now, our moral standards are the laughing stock of the world. Hollywood mocks our traditional fundamental beliefs. Politicians cater to groups diametrically opposed to main stream standards. Businesses are more concerned about the "bottom line" than their employees or their customers. "Return to Me... and I will return to you," says the Lord of Hosts. I was talking to a young woman during our street ministry one day. She had been hearing the call. I knew it before I ever asked. At one time her life was lived as a believer. But she had wandered away for whatever reason. No, she had not wandered away. She had run away. Her home is Oregon. She ran to Colorado. Her children are with her mother- in Oregon. Her heart is in Oregon. But she is in California- trying to escape from something. She knew she should be in a Christian fellowship. She knew she would never be happy until she returned to Jesus- and her family. Still, she was not ready to do the about face necessary. God was calling her: "Return to Me... and I will return to you," says the Lord of Hosts. I can only pray that the seeds of restoration have been sown, and that someone, somewhere, sometime will reap this harvest. Is that call also ringing in your ears? Have you wandered away from your first love? Now is the time of salvation. Don't let it pass you by. You may not get another opportunity. Can you hear Him? "Return to Me... and I will return to you," says the Lord of Hosts. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen. Prodigal Son "Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. "And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood." Luke 15:11 Being a parent is one of the most demanding jobs given to the human race. The mother bears most of the burden in the early years because she is sole provider of nutrition and nurturing. Eventually the father becomes vital as he helps prepare the child for adult hood. Then, just when everything seems right and the child is sent to college then married, the parents begin to think about themselves and how they will do the things they have set aside for so many years in order to raise children! The father in today's parable probably had the same general feeling. Things were looking good. Both sons were well established on the family farm. There was more than enough to go around. Profits were up. The wife was happy. Dad could begin to think about letting the sons take over so he could take a seat on the city council and participate in the events at the city gate. Then it happened! The younger son gets the bug under his saddle and wants to live the "good life." He asks for his inheritance, much less than that belonging to the older son, but substantial none-the-less. I suspect the father tried to talk his young son out of this frivolous idea, but his wisdom was cast aside and the son left. Most of us know what happens when children are given an abundance that they did not earn and place themselves in an atmosphere lacking restraints. The young son became spiritually lost, separated from family and faith. Oh, it was a good life while the money lasted, but when the funds were gone, the good times became the bad times and the lost son was destitute. No one loved him poor. His "friends" didn't really love him at all, they loved his money. Things became so bad that the lad took a job, out of the country, of course, tending PIGS! Remember that pigs were anathema to a good Jewish boy. He had fallen so low that he actually fought the pigs for food. At last, as with most people when they hit bottom, the lost boy begins to think about home. Note that it didn't happen overnight. His pride kept him from returning home any before the conflict with the hogs. He knows he can't return as "son" because he has squandered his right to be called that. But he knows that his father's servants are in better shape than he is. There is only one choice to make, die or return home as a servant. He prepares his speech; he has several days to practice it on the way back home. He probably wishes he could change clothes, that pig stench just will not wash out of his rags, even in the Jordan River, but he has nothing left but the tatters on his back. At last the familiar scenes of home begin to intrude upon his thoughts and hope rises within him. "Tonight I will eat a nutritious meal with the servants. That is as much as I can hope for, but it is considerably better than pig slop." Rounding the final bend and entering the long path to the homestead, his heart begins to pound as he rehearses the speech for the final time. His head is hung low. He begins to drag is feet in the aftermath of second thoughts, when out of nowhere he is nearly tackled and knocked flat on his backside. At first he thinks he is being mugged, again, but no, the "attacker" is not beating him. He is being squeezed, rather like in a giant vise. His mind reels. "What is happening to me?" Then out of the jumble of fresh smelling garments, he gets a glimpse of, Uh-oh. I'm out of space. I'll have to continue tomorrow! "For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. And they began to be merry. Luke 15:24 We left our bewildered, wandering son in the middle of an attack. You recall that he had asked for his inheritance and skipped town to party, party, party. After the cash flow ceased, he found himself in the employ of a pig farmer in a foreign land. Feeling a bit low and a lot "filthy", he returned home intending to seek refuge as a servant in his father's house. Now we find him surrounded by strong arms and the aroma of freshly laundered and spiced garments. He opens his eyes, looks up, and sees the smiling face of his aging father. The kid stutters, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son. Let me dwell in your household as one of the slaves." In his bewilderment, the son is not quite sure that his father understood. He hears a call for a clean robe and something about a barbecue. He struggles to try again,but is stopped mid-thought by the words of today's verse. "for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." By now it seems that every member of the household has arrived at the spot in the lane where the "mugging" began. Everyone wants to touch the "one raised from the dead." No one seems to be bothered by the stale, pungent smell of hog. Everyone is reaching, groping, laughing, crying, shouting, and running here and there to fulfill the wishes of the overjoyed father. The prodigal feels the smelly garments being pulled from his shoulders. Too much is happening for him to feel embarrassed. Then comes the sensation of new cloth upon his too tight skin covering too prominent bones. The robe has arrived, and somewhere in the crowd the son's mother appears with tears of joy streaming down her smiling face. She can't believe it is really the one, until she takes his face in her hands and gazes into his gaunt face. The eyes are his; the lips are burnt, but they are his. He needs a haircut and a shave, but "Yes!" this is her son, her lost baby. Now she smothers him with maternal kisses and hugs the likes of which the resurrected son hasn't felt or even dreamed about since long before Bar Mitzvah. If our story ended here, it would be perfect. The plot has risen to a crisis in the pig pen. The action has fallen to this final moment of suspense. Nothing remains but the happy conclusion that the united family lived happily ever after. But there is another act yet to follow. The play is not concluded though we can draw some application at this point. In this parable it is rather obvious that the father is The Father, God. He is longingly watching the lane for a glimpse of any of His lost children as they return home. He is waiting to run to them, not wanting any of them to die in the "pig pen's" of sin. Just as our boy had a pang of longing for home, each lost sinner will eventually look towards home, or at least what he thinks is home, longing for what he instinctively knows is better than what he has. Some turn quickly, having tested the world and finding it distasteful. Other will wallow in the pigpen for years before they begin the long trek home. And, unfortunately, some will die in the pigsty, food for the devourer, the enemy of our souls and God's mortal foe. Amen.
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