When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, “At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!” I will go home to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ Luke 15:17-19 NLT
Jesus was an incredible communicator, and He held the attention of both small groups and massive crowds with His wisdom and use of captivating stories. His most well-known story is typically called “The Prodigal Son” or “The Lost Boy.” It tells the story of a young man who had a wonderful father who loved him deeply and provided well for his present and his future, but the young man became full of himself and wanted to be “free” of any semblance of authority his father had in his life. He did something that must have caused the listening crowd to clutch their pearls and put their hands over their mouths in shock. He demanded that his father, still very much alive and healthy, give him the inheritance he assumed would be his when his father died. It’s hard for me to imagine that even now. Think of how that must have felt to his loving father who had done him nothing but good his entire life.
Despite the shock and pain of it, the father loved him enough to allow him to choose his own freedom. He gave half of what he had worked his whole life to accumulate to this immature, ego-filled son, and “set him free” – free to use his resources and spend his one and only life as he wished.
We don’t know how long it took him to bank himself out of resources, friends, and hope, but one day he came to his senses and realized that life without any authority but his own was anything but good. Freedom was not as he had imagined. Coming to his senses caused him to realize that the good life was found in his father’s house. He returned home where his father welcomed him without hesitation and without requiring an accounting for his foolishness. He was restored to complete sonship.
That story has struck a powerful chord in every generation since Jesus first told it. We all know what it is to reject wise authority in search of our own “freedom” instead of aligning ourselves with the right authority who has designed us to live within the most protective, freeing boundaries possible. The good news is, we can come to our senses and return to freedom – home where we truly belong.
- Where do you see you may need to come to your senses and reverse a decision you made without wisdom? Don’t delay. When you find you are traveling in the wrong direction, the wisest thing you can do is turn around as quickly as possible. The Father will help you get back on track with the freedom of sonship.