Who's in the Center?

I was helping out at the VBS at my church and while I waited for my dad to pick me up I sat down and saw a book on the table next to me. It was a thin book so I decided I read a little while I waited, I don’t remember much but what I do know that it had to do with the parable Jesus told about the prodigal son (if you want to read the parable it’s in Luke 15: 11 – 31) I am not going to give a full analysis because what this parable deserves could take weeks of posts (and very long posts at that), what I will are two thoughts I had. This parable is one of the three “lost” stories Jesus told, one is about a sheep another a coin, and then the son. In one I believe Jesus show’s God’s care and love as a shepherd, another our immense value to God and the third is a story more about us. There is the father (God) the elder son and the younger son who represents two groups of people (more on this some other time), I am going to write a little about the younger son. The younger son demands his share of his father’s wealth and runs off to spend it, he wastes it on parties and fair-weather friends only to find he lost it all. Soon he hits rock bottom when a famine comes and as he finds himself wishing he could eat the food that the pigs he was taking care of were eating he says “Geez, my dad’s servants have it better than this, see ya pigs I’m going home.” And then he and his father run toward each other and there is a big party and his brother is angry (more on this later). I think that the younger son tells us something about ourselves, the only thing in the world that will truly make us happy is God, and everything done apart from God will never satisfy us. The son was only truly happy when he ran into his father’s embrace; I think that we should do the same. I could wake up and have the life of my dreams but if that life didn’t include God then it would be more of a nightmare. Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” Psalm 127: 1-2. God has incredible plans for each of us, we just have to run to Him and accept them.