Coming Home

by Fred Walter

He took off to conquer the world, his pockets full of money. He was a full-fledged member of the "jet set" -- young, supposedly free from obligations, rich, and willing to spend his fortune without a moment's concern for the future. The Bible calls him a prodigal -- an extravagantly wasteful person.

The prodigal was willing to buy his friends, to spend his money on frivolity, to conduct an adulterous relationship with the world. He belonged to the "Me Generation" and was committed to pleasure without account, feeling he deserved all that he could lavish on himself. Here was a man of "true gusto," grabbing all he could get in self-serving pleasure.

No doubt the young man was bright, talented, and somewhat personable. He was adventurous and generous, according to the story in Luke 15. But he fell into a pattern of living out of which it is difficult, if not impossible, to untangle oneself. As long as the wine flowed and the money bags were filled, as long as the friends stayed around and the "hotel" people were friendly, life was great.

Penniless

But "riotous living" has a way of exhausting funds once their source has been cut off. Las Vegas takes your money. For every winner, there are far more losers. For the young prodigal, who had enjoyed all the pleasures of the world, the money ran out before he could break the pleasure cycle, and his credit was no good. He had no visible means of support. His "fair weather friends" were little more than leaches. They weren't good for one drink!

After his money ran out, the young man entered a period of uncertainty and frustration. A famine hit the land, and he had nothing with which to buy his life needs. Good jobs weren't available; likely, unemployment was high.

Besides all this, the young man was ill-trained. He had left home as soon as he was old enough to be on his own. The only thing he knew was farming, and here he was in an urban area. He had to find something, or he would starve to death.

To compound matters, the young prodigal's single purpose in life when times had been good was to heap on himself all the pleasures money could buy. You could say he really had no meaningful, overall purpose for life.

Searching for hope

Accounting time had come. Leaving the neon signs and the fast-paced city life, the young man searched for some semblance of hope by going to the country. He sought the familiar to find salvation. Accepting a life of bare subsistence, he ate the slop considered too poor for his employer's table. He joined the hogs, considered to be the lowest form of animal life by Jesus' audience.

He literally was "out of his senses." All semblance of intelligent thought had vanished. The prodigal's Devil-may-care attitude had laid the foundation for this final descent. He had lived without considering what would result from his riotous living. He had been on a reckless course with sure disaster. Under such conditions, it's no wonder he had sunk to the bottom of the heap.

Skid row

The story repeats itself throughout history: A young person strikes out on his own, full of hope, set on conquering the world on his own terms, willing to sacrifice the wisdom of others' experiences on the altar of self-pleasure and personal fulfillment. This is a marriage with the glitter of the world, defying the godly examples of people in preceding generations. It is the rejection of proven experience to be replaced by the beckoning call of the alternative lifestyle in the name of assumed self-discovery.

For the prodigal, the time for facing reality came, and he was ill-equipped. He literally hit skid row.

Till now, he no doubt laid the blame for his destitution everywhere but on himself:

"All my friends forsook me in my need."

"My parents sheltered me too much. I wasn't ready to face life."

"Why did my dad let me go? Why did he let me do this?"

"Nobody really cares anyway. The whole world could care less."

"There can be no God. Otherwise, why would He let me get to this point?"

Do the excuses sound familiar? Haven't we heard them somewhere before?

Facing reality

But now the denial of guilt was over. Luke 15:17 tells us that this young man "came to himself." He realized "How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger?"

The young man would humble himself. Foolish pride had stood in the way of sensibility. He would return home and earn his way in life without unrealistic expectations. He knew he would receive a fair wage from his father. How much better it would be to serve in his father's house than to reign as master of the pig sty!

The prodigal knew he couldn't expect full reinstatement as son, with all the privileges and benefits. He would have to prove he deserved the right to live on his father's estate. After all, hadn't he spent all his earthly inheritance in riotous and wanton living? He had absolutely nothing to show for having received that fortune. Even the very clothes on his back were filthy rags.

He could not go back and stand before his father in self-righteous pride. The last vestige of his former, proud self had long since been lost. Now he must appear in humble contrition before his father and hope for some acceptance. It would be far better than this gutter existence far from home.

The son returned home. He knew the heart of his father, so he knew he'd be accepted. It would only be right to have to live among the servants. At least he would be home and would no longer have to worry about starving. Life would be far more than mere existence.

Homecoming

Were the story to end here, it would be enough. But this isn't how it ended.

While the son was still a long way off, the father, waiting and watching every day during the estrangement, saw his son. He ran out to receive his long-lost son with open arms of compassion, weeping for joy.

What a story! Notice the acceptance: no qualifying probation, no probing questions or trial. The father was not repelled by the tattered, stench-filled rags his son was wearing.

The son received the unqualified forgiveness and acceptance of his father. He was restored to full sonship, receiving his father's own signet ring -- a symbol of authority, honor, and the granting of all privileges belonging only to the family.

The household celebrated, feasted, and rejoiced because of the son's return. Anger, resentment, impunity didn't belong among the emotions of this homecoming. Truly the child was forgiven without qualification. Do you think the father ever brought up again the son's former rebellion? It would ruin the story!

Warm acceptance

So it is when a repentant sinner returns home to God, our heavenly Father. It can be summed up in the meaning of what the Bible calls grace: The sinner has been accepted in the warm embrace of the heavenly Father, without qualification, without hesitation, without further retribution.

Sure, the Father's grace is not deserved. Sure, it seems there should be some penance. But that's not the way it is with our Father in heaven. Everything is completely forgotten and forgiven, never to be remembered again. The slate is clean. The penitent's sins have been buried in the deepest recesses of the sea, never to arise from their grave.

Contrasts

God has forgiven and forgotten, but can we? The greatest ploy of Satan is to make people think they can never be forgiven for all the sins they have committed. And Satan uses Christians to reinforce that belief.

God says, "I have forgiven freely." Man says, "I forgive you, but not without a price."

God says, "I love you without qualification." Man says, "I'll love you, but only under these conditions."

God says, "I will remember your sins no more." Man says, "I may forgive, but I won't forget!"

God says, "Your debt has been fully paid by My Son; you owe nothing." Man says, "Pay the last red cent, or you will never get another dime out of me!"

Peace

The unchanged person, the unconverted soul, is often exhausted from having used up all his energies in trying to find purpose to life. That person is tired in mind and body. But once such a person "comes to himself" and discovers his meaning in the plan of life, he no longer wastes his energy trying to find further enlightenment. His energy will be directed to making the journey to his rightful "home."

Peace comes, and it is sweet.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. . . . because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found (John 14:7; Luke 15:32).

Tranquillity of order is born of this peace. The senses become subject to the reason, and the reason becomes subject to faith. The whole personality becomes born to the will of God. All life makes sense. A sinner has been born anew; the prodigal has come home, and all the house rejoices!

A version of this article appeared in a past issue of the Bible Advocate magazine. For a free subscription by regular mail, contact us at bibleadvocate@cog7.org.

Fred Walter was a minister in the Church of God (Seventh Day).

© 1998 General Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day)