Finding one’s way

We all know someone who’s left for the far country. Seeking to find oneself, a wanderer will travel far and wide. Some may choose to travel even to the ends of the earth in search for what delights. The treks are as individual as each poor soul who wanders away… down the long, often tortuous, path. Searching and still not finding what’s being sought, the traveler desperately seeks to assuage his longings while inevitably missing the antidote.

In Luke 15, the Prodigal son yearns for such a life. He takes his portion of inheritance money from his father and heads out for the unpromised land of living a worldly life, high on the hog. One day, he’s literally face-to-face with swine and while hungry, laments over who’s got the better meal.

The son soon realizes his sad state and seeks to go back home. He sees the error of his ways and comes to understand his sin before his father. But even before the son travels back, while still on his way, the father sees him. The welcoming arms of the father are as wide as the east is from the west—the Lord’s measurement for how far he chooses not to remember our sins any longer.

How many of us have traveled the wrong paths seeking the tinsel instead of the gold? The word tells us we “reap what we sow.” Sow to the flesh, there is death and destruction; sow to the spirit, there is life. Abundant life.

By the grace of God, the spirit of the Prodigal son may not be in us, but for those who are wandering, please know that your journey will come to an end. What you’re looking for will never be found… unless, of course, you are looking for Jesus.