Lent IV |
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But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. – Luke 15:20 Today, we are looking at the story of the prodigal son, found in Luke chapter 15. Whether this passage is familiar or new to you, I invite you to take a few minutes to read it. In this season of Lent, it is particularly fitting to focus on this story of waste, repentance, and inexplicable grace. As you may know, “prodigal” means recklessly wasteful or extravagant. We often think of the prodigal son as simply a long-lost sinner, but in so doing we miss a more specific meaning to the story. It’s true that the son left home, and his father must have grieved the son’s departure. But at the root of the story is the fact that the son squandered half of what his father had taken a lifetime to build. This young man not only had the nerve to ask for his inheritance before his father died, but he blew it all in record time. When we read stories like this, it’s easy to decide that we would never make such lousy decisions. We haven’t wasted our money on wild living. We’re smarter than that…right? But remember, all of the resources that we have are gifts from God: our time, our money, and our talents. What resources have you spent for your own purposes? To get an idea, take a look at your average day. Do you start thinking about work the moment you wake up? Are your evenings spent on the couch, watching whatever is on TV? What part of the day is carved out for prayer? When do you volunteer your time to share your talents with others? Or are you just too busy? Next, take a look at your budget. Many Christians practice the spiritual discipline of tithing, giving the first 10% of our income back to God. If you’ve never done that, it sounds painful (if not impossible). But remember, God provided the funds for us in the first place. If you’re active in a church, that’s an easy place to tithe. If not, there are thousands of charities, large and small, that are busy with God’s projects. One may instantly come to mind, or you may want to do some prayerful research to find the right one. It can be overwhelming to decide where to give, in a world with so many needs. But remember that one life is a huge thing to God. If you are able to invest in someone else, you’ll both reap the rewards. Lastly, take a look at your goals. What do you want out of life? Do you want comfort? Respect? A good nest-egg? Or do you want to be plugged in to what God is doing? God’s plans will probably be much more exciting than anything we could ever cook up. The question is: do we have the nerve to see what He’s up to? It’s easy to think that we’ll do something for God later, once circumstances are just right. But by then, we may find that we’ve spent everything. Lent is a great time to take stock of what God has given us and how we’ve used it. It may be hard to think of ourselves as “prodigals” if we’re practicing Lent in the first place. But if we’re honest with ourselves, many of us will admit that we have frittered away some of the precious gifts of God… often not realizing it until it seems too late. The prodigal son waited until he had lost it all before he was desperate enough to come home. Let’s not make the same mistake. God is already scanning the horizon, waiting to see us in the distance. He’ll be glad to see you, even if you’ve made a mess of things. If you feel that you’ve wasted a resource in your life, take it straight to God. Admit that you blew it, and ask Him to do whatever He wants with your time, your talents, your money…and be prepared for a surprise. Remember that God’s resources are unlimited. What will you do with the share He’s given to you? |
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