By Olubunmi Adebayo
*The above statement is perhaps the greatest statement of repentance and reconciliation any person alive can ever make.*
*The prodigal son did the unthinkable by asking for the portion of his inheritance from the father, who was still alive, not dead :*
*Luke 15:[12] And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.*
*[13]And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.*
*By way of recap – a man had two sons. The younger son just woke up one day and approached the father that he should give him the portion of inheritance due to him.*
*The father was surprised, but went ahead all the same to grant the request of his son. The son by his conduct and what he did with the inheritance became known as the “prodigal son”.*
*This young man suffered a terrible setback in the far country he went to, because over there, he wasted the inheritance he demanded from his father.*
*The Bible says of him :*
*Luke 15:[14] And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.*
*But the prodigal son did something that should be a lesson to everyone of us :*
*Luke 15:[17] And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!*
*The prodigal son of his own reasoning and judgement came to a conclusion that hired servants working for his father back home were living far better than himself, who had become a Pig-Attendant in a foreign land.*
*The question before us today is – are there lessons for us to learn from the statement of the prodigal son and his decision to return back home to his father? Yes, there are :*
*A) IT WAS A DECISION BORN OUT OF PAIN, AND NOT OUT OF PLEASURE.*
*We should all understand something clearly about life: most far reaching decisions are made while in pain, than during pleasure.*
*The word of God says :*
*Isaiah 48:[10] Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.*
*The sufferings brought the prodigal son to his senses – shattering his pride, his indulgence and his sense of wastefulness.*
*The famine did what the father’s counsel could not do.*
*Many people die in their passage of pain without using the period to seek reconciliation with God as the prodigal son did.*
*B) THE PRODIGAL SON MADE A PERSONAL DECISION – “I WILL ARISE”.*
*Please know that nobody made this decision for him – not his father – his father let him go.Not his friends -his friends abandoned him. Not the pigs he was feeding and supervising – the pigs couldn’t help him.*
*Note that repentance can never be delegated to anyone. Your pastor cannot arise for you. Your wife cannot arise for you. Your father or mother who has prayed for years for a child cannot do this for you.*
*The prodigal son said “I WILL.” He took personal responsibility. He stopped saying:*
*”My father didn’t understand me”.*
*”My elder brother was too perfect”*
*- “The famine caused him to”*
*He said : “I have sinned.” As long as you are blaming, you will remain seated and do nothing about your situation.*
*To all our dear readers, please know that any fellow who is being asked to be close to God, but who is feeling otherwise, will end up experiencing something similar to what the prodigal son experienced – this is the truth of life.*
*To be concluded tomorrow, God willing.*
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©️ Olubunmi S Adebayo.
