Come Home, Come Home, It's Supper Time

When my mind began working on this subject, the first thought was “Do you ever . . .?”, when the question became “Have you ever . . .?” Have you ever felt as if you were surely standing at the very gates of hell? Something, or perhaps someone, caused you to be literally blasted from your warm, comfy existence to a place you’ve never been before. You aren’t sure of how you got there, and you sure have no idea on how to get back. I have. I’m sure I’m not alone. And if you haven’t yet, you may experience it some time.

Thinking on this subject, as it was given to me, I looked for the “spiritual value” in it. I figured if the Holy Spirit was giving me this, He had to have a scriptural reference. And He did. The prodigal son, a very familiar story, every child in Sunday school has read this story. And many adults have lived it. (Luke 15:11- 24)

The story of how the proverbial prodigal got to the pig lot is not necessarily unique. The one in Luke’s account used his inheritance on riotous living. Sometimes it isn’t one’s own actions

that can send a person falling, but the shock of learning about someone else’s actions can be a shock to one’s system. It can simulate a scene from a movie where a person is shown falling in space, rolling and flailing arms and legs until they land somewhere. It is then, in trying to deal with all that has been happening, a person, while perhaps can’t “see” anything, but “feels” like he or she is sitting in a pig lot, the very outskirts of hell.

I’m sure the prodigal son, while sitting among the pigs, trying to take their food, was running through his mind the previous times before he landed there. He probably wanted to kick himself for the things he did, the money he spent, the people he had associated with during his times there in Sin City. But as he was finding out, the “coulda, woulda, shouldas” weren’t helping his situation at all.

Now, granted, I’m sure there aren’t many today who find themselves starving in an actual pig lot, though it could happen, but most of us are still in our homes, going to work in our same jobs, going to our church on Sunday mornings, going about our everyday business. No one can see the emptiness inside, the darkness where the light used to be. The cry of the human spirit for the touch of the Holy Spirit becomes strong. How, HOW, can a person get it all back?

Luke 15:17-24 describes the steps for all of us to follow: REALIZATION, RESOLUTION, REPENTANCE, RETURN, RECONCILIATION, RE-CLOTHING, REJOICING. In Romans 5:1-18, Paul explains the eight jewels of reconciliation: PEACE, ACCESS, JOY, GLORY IN TRIAL, PATIENCE, EXPERIENCE, HOPE and LOVE (verses 1-5).

As we are entering into the holiday season, one thing for which we can always be thankful, is a loving, merciful Father is always ready to welcome his Prodigals home. Don’t spend another

moment in that darkness wishing we were back in the Light. Call out, reach out, come back home. Today. Now.

Sandy Peffer