Church (Take Me Back) DevotionalSample

THE PRODIGAL RETURNS 

I was a prodigal son. I was raised in church, and I gave my heart to the Lord when I was 9 years old. I went to Vacation Bible School, I learned the Bible stories, and I knew the basic things any good Christian boy should know. But when I got into middle and high school, things started changing for me. The influence of my friends and the world around me began to drown out the things I learned as a child, and before I knew it, the desires of my heart were leading my life instead of God. I knew the way I was living was wrong, and I was convicted of it every time I attended a church service.  So instead of changing my life, I changed my surroundings. I decided that I would “check out” of Church, and I would live my life however I wanted. I still attended from time to time to appease my mother and grandparents, but it was merely surface level. I thought that God and I would be “fine” with each other, just from a distance. But now looking back at that time in my life, I see that God didn’t allow there to be any distance between us. He was always pursuing me. He was always drawing me to Himself, and He used His people – the Church – to do it. 

I had a few friends that were very intentional in speaking the truth to me in love. They spoke the Gospel to me. They would kindly question my life choices and remind me who God was and the place that He should have in my life. At first the conversations were short, as I would squirm my way out of them and onto a new subject. But as time went on, God began to use them to break down the walls I had built up around my life. Slowly but surely, I began to see my sin for what it was. I was broken, and I knew I truly needed Jesus to forgive me and restore me. But one thing was still standing in my way. I was afraid to give it all to God. I was afraid to be honest about the way I had been living, the things I had seen, the things I had done. What will He do? I had a picture of God in my mind as though he was angry with me, waiting for me to return to Him so He could punish me. But that isn’t God at all. In the story of the Prodigal Son in the Bible (Luke 15:11-32), when the son returns back home after squandering his inheritance, the father isn’t waiting for Him with a whip, but instead He ran to meet him with a hug and a kiss, and he put a ring on his finger and robe on his back. 

That is how God waits for us. He is ready to run to us with open arms, to greet us with a kiss, and to throw us a “Welcome Home” party. When I finally surrendered my life to Jesus, this is the greeting I received in my heart. God used His people to minister to me and bring me home. Maybe you’re reading this and you’re far from God, or you’ve never known God.  I pray that you would come home to Him. He’s not waiting in anger. He’s waiting with a kiss. Maybe your relationship with God is strong – if so, God may be desiring to use you in the life of someone else, just as he used His people – the Church – in mine, to lovingly call the prodigal home, and throw a party when they arrive. 

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