Throughout the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John parables that Jesus shared with his disciples and others are recorded for us to learn from and grow others through. Parables by definition are "simple stories used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels." Generally, the parables Jesus shared were told to drive home a point about the choices we make throughout our lives that impact our relationship with God and those we spend life with each day. Think of the shepherd who went out to find the one lost sheep, or the man who built his house on the solid ground as opposed to the other who chose to build on the sinking sand, Jesus used His parables to give us a practical image of how we should live our lives. On a few occasions I have heard ministers take a scripture from the Bible, and insert their name in place of the character in the verses of the scripture, personalizing the takeaway and driving home the point that God loves each of us individually and that Jesus sacrificed His life here on Earth for you and I. For our FTM Thought this week, I'd like to share a parable that I'm pretty sure you are familiar with, but let's make it personal.
I'd like to ask you to slow down, turn down the outside noise, find a quiet place to sit down, ask God to speak to your heart, mind, body, and soul, and read the following parable. When you come to a blank space, replace it with your name. I took the liberty to add "daughter" to the text. Make this a personal story, because it is.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son/Daughter Luke 15:11-24
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons/daughters. 12 The younger one, ________ said to his/her father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, __________ got together all he/she had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his/her wealth in wild living. 14 After __________ had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and _________ began to be in need. 15 So _________ went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent _________ to his fields to feed pigs. 16 __________ longed to fill his/her stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave ________ anything.
17 “When ___________ came to his/her senses, __________ said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son/daughter; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So ________ got up and went to his/her father.
“But while ________ was still a long way off, his father saw __________ and was filled with compassion for him/her; he ran to his son/daughter, threw his arms around __________ and kissed __________.
21 “___________ said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son/daughter.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on ___________. Put a ring on ___________ finger and sandals on __________ feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son/daughter of mine was dead and is alive again; __________ was lost and is found.’ So, they began to celebrate.
Now, if you did the first steps that I requested you should be in a place where you can think about how personal your relationship is with God. Each of us has a different story to fill in the blanks with our name, but at the end of the day, God sent Jesus to this Earth for you and for CHUCK. I was the lost sheep, I built my house on the sand, I planted seeds in places where I knew it wouldn't grow, and many times I don't want to give up the "good" for God's "best". Yet when I finally come to my senses, God is there, He always was, always is, and always will be. Just like the father in the parable, God is waiting on us when we are out in the world lost and He welcomes you and he welcomes me home when we make the decision to seek Him. "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13.
There are times when we have all been in the shoes of the prodigal son, after personalizing this parable, you may have realized that you are lost in some sense of the word right now. Just as the son realized in the parable, his father was there waiting for him, welcoming him home with open arms. That same truth exists for you today. Go home, God is waiting on you, He loves you, and He welcomes you. Maybe you haven't ever met the Father, no matter, God is the Creator of All, so He is there for each of us no matter what our circumstances might have been or what our current situation is. God loves ______________.
Coach Carter
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