Jump Start # 878

Luke 15:17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!’”

We’ve come to the turning point of the parable of the prodigal son. He came to his senses. Without that, this is just another sad story of wasted opportunity, reckless living and lost souls. He came to his senses. The famine, the feeding the pigs, the longing to eat what the pigs were eating did all of that. Desperation, hopelessness, against a brick wall, going down a dead end street—all of these fit the younger son in this story.

He came to his senses on his own. That is remarkable. Many don’t or can’t do that. They get there, but they need someone to help them. It may be a comment in a sermon, a statement from a parent, a jab from the boss. Their eyes open and they come to their senses.

This reminds us that sin and irresponsible living is senseless. It doesn’t make sense. Sin hurts the body, mind, emotions and especially the soul. Sin ruins our relationship with God. Sin cripples us, enslaves us and makes us feel trapped. Often I will hear folks say, “I just don’t understand why that person is living like that.” Of course you don’t understand. You are trying to make sense of something that is senseless. Taking a life for a few dollars, does that make sense? Putting all kinds of illegal drugs in your body so you can feel different, does that make sense? Driving drunk? Getting drunk? Neglecting your family? Having an attitude because you don’t get your way? None of those things make sense. But when a person is in the corner, they turn to those things because that is all they know.

The prodigal’s revelation came from a contrast. He was wanting the dry, hard pods that pigs eat. That got him thinking about his father’s servants. They were eating better than he was. They were servants and he was the free one. They had to please his father. He only had to please himself. Yet, they were doing better than he was. That opened his eyes. What a fool he had been. What a mess he had gotten himself into.

What drew him home was his father. It wasn’t that he missed his friends at home. It wasn’t the older brother. It was a nice warm bed with a roof over your head. Those things are nice, but it was his father that drew him home. There is a lesson there. A person may want Heaven because of angels, gold street, pearl gates and living for ever. Those are nice, very nice. But it is being in the presence of God that makes all the difference. That is the drawing power.

Coming to his senses led him to what he needed to do. He needed to go home. He thought, “I will get up and go to my Father and will say to him…” That’s the plan. That’s what he did. That worked. May will recognize that they have made a mess of things but they never get up and go. They stay in their misery. They realize they have messed up home, work, friends, trust and their relationship with God. They know booze is killing them, yet they continue to stay with the pigs. They know lying killed the trust people once had in them, yet they continue to lie. They know anger got the best of them, yet they remain very angry. The prodigal got up and went to his father.

You’ll also notice that the father didn’t come to the pig pen. The father didn’t send money to the pig pen. The father didn’t send food to the pig pen. Those things would not have led to the changes in the prodigal. He had to come to his senses or there would never be any lasting changes in his life.

Parents, sending money to the pig pen because our kids are in need may be enabling them more than helping them. It may allow them to continue to roll in the mud with pigs. He came to his senses when he realized how low he had gotten. The prodigal didn’t play the victim. He didn’t blame others for not being there to help him. His choices led him to where he was.

Coming to your senses is very painful. It is seeing yourself as you really are. It is realizing that you have a problem, a real problem. It is seeing that you and no one else is responsible for the mess that you are in. It is seeing that people don’t trust you because you are dishonest. It is realizing that your drinking is making the kids scared of you. It is coming to understand that your selfish and negative attitude are turning family members away from you. It is seeing that you cannot get through the day without a drink, a pill, a lie, a lustful look at porn, an obsession with money. Coming to your senses means you need help. Where you are is not good. What you have done has ruined things. Coming to your senses leads you to God. He can forgive. He can help. He can turn you around. A servant in the house was better off than he was. The servant had food, he had none. The servant had a roof and a bed, he had none. A servant was treated with respect, he had none. A servant knew what the day would bring, he didn’t. His generous father was treating the servants well. He desired to just go home and be a servant.

He left making demands, “give me.” He returned with a request, “make me.” Make me as your hired men. Let me be a servant. You eat first, I’ll pour the drink in your cup, I will put the food on your plate and I will stand behind you and watch you eat. After you are finished, I will clean the kitchen, then at the end of the day, I will eat out in the barn. I will eat after you. I will not sit at the table with you and brother. I will serve you. That is better than pigs.

The problem many folks are in is that they don’t realize that they are with the pigs. Life isn’t so bad for them. They have grown accustomed to the smell of pigs. I knew a pig farmer years ago. Ate at his house. It took days for me to get the smell of pigs out of me. I was there for only one evening. My clothes smelled like pigs. I smelled like pigs. It was awful. He didn’t mind. He was used to pigs. Some are like that. Why improve, when they like things the way they are. So sad. They don’t see or realize how much better things could be.

He came to his senses. This brought anger at himself, shame, guilt and sorrow. What a fool he had been. What a wasted opportunity. Gone. All gone. It was never coming back. Home is where he had to be. Home is where his heart was. The far country had lied to him. He wasn’t better off. He wasn’t happy. He wasn’t having a good time. Miserable. Lonely. Desperate. Afraid. That’s the way the far county leaves a person. When he saw that, there was really only one thing to do, go home.

Roger