You Can Reach a Prodigal Too Soon

4

I met a pastor several years ago who shared a thoughtful insight with me. Sometimes in our attempt to reach out to the prodigals we know, we can intervene too soon. Do you remember what happened to the prodigal son in Luke 15? After he had wasted all his inheritance in wild living, he ended up feeding the pigs. As Eugene Peterson puts it, “He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.” If you saw that, you might think, “That young man is ready for a new life.” Maybe so, maybe not.In the story Jesus told, the father waited for his son to return, and then ran to meet him when he was still far from home. What if the father in the story had gone after his son and tried to bring him back even one day early? The son would have said, “If only you had left me alone for one more day, I would have made all my money back because I was investing in pork bellies.”So it goes. We may think that someone has hit rock bottom when they are still scheming a way out of their problems. It was not until the son “came to his senses” that he decided to return home. That has to happen to every prodigal son and daughter, and it cannot be predicted or forced.Repentance is first of all a work of God in the human heart. If you come a day too soon, the prodigal will always think, “With one more day, I would have figured out a way to solve my own problems.” As long as the scheming and lying and deceiving continues, the best thing we can do is to pray for God’s Spirit to bring them to their senses and then to wait patiently until that day comes.

*Screen Name:
Question or comment:
	This is a private message or question
	Notify me of follow up comments via e-mail
	* denotes required field

Visitor Comments:

July 19, 2010, 5:00 AM george hizon says:
	Amen!
July 19, 2010, 7:20 PM *MSH* says:
	Again, “Amen!”. We often get so caught up in our “mission to save” some from themselves, we leave God’s timing out of the equation. Thank-you for the perfect reminder. †
July 19, 2010, 7:30 PM *MSH* says:
	Again, “Amen!”. We often get so caught up in our “mission to save” some from themselves, we leave God’s timing out of the equation. Thank-you for the perfect reminder. †
July 26, 2010, 3:06 PM believer says:
	so truthful, have stopped in wisdom from interfering in God’s perfect timing! Praying from where I am is fine. I returned to Jesus through grace and faith, and I honestly do not remember being led by ONE human, I’m sure it was multitudes of prayer. Well written! Lovely insight!