Happy new month! It’s Monday, October 2, 2023. One of the things I appreciate about following our Life Journal reading plan is that there are plenty of scriptures to choose from. If I don’t understand one section, like Zechariah, I can always write from a different portion, like Luke 15. That way, I can remove excuses for not doing my devotions! Anyway, today we enter one of the most iconic passages: the story of three lost things—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. But perhaps it’s more than that. Maybe this is the story of someone else? Perhaps this is the story of the One who refuses to give up on that which is lost! Read on…
Today's Reading:
Zechariah 13,14; Psalms 147; Luke 15
Scripture
"But while he was yet a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:21)
Observation
I noticed something interesting. The shepherd went after the lamb, and the owner went after the lost coin. However, the father did not go after his runaway son. His son would only respond to consequences, and the father sadly knew that.
Sometimes, we have to lose everything to regain what was originally ours. The father's greatest desire was for restoration, not regret. So, he waited. He must have been waiting because he saw his son when he was 'still a long way off.' Nevertheless, the son could only learn from the swinery because he couldn't learn from the family.
Application
I hope I won't have to reach the point of being with the pigs before I turn around. My heart needs to be more supple and willing so that God won't have to enroll me in the 'hog class.' I want to see further ahead and make course corrections sooner.
For some reason, we humans sometimes prefer experiencing the slop before we turn around. I'm not sure why our flesh yearns for mud and filth. The sooner I can overcome my fleshly desires, the better off I'll be!
Proverbs 27:12 explains it well in the Amplified version: 'A prudent person sees evil and hides from it, but the naive, [who are easily misled], continue on and are punished [by suffering the consequences of sin.]'
Prayer
Father, please grant me discernment and the ability to see far ahead and think wisely about current conditions and situations. Otherwise, I can get caught up in feeding my flesh rather than guarding my inheritance. I can become so involved in addressing the urgent with temporary solutions that I neglect the long-term resolutions!
I want to be a fruit of Your design and not a product of the pig farm.
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