portrait of a prodigal

We see people everyday who are poor and downcast and struggling.  A tough concept to grasp though and even to believe at times is the population within those poor and downcast who were actually once on top of the world.  One day, years or perhaps even months before, some of those same people were sitting in corner offices, eating at fancy restaurants, and laughing with friends in high places.  Yet for whatever reason or perhaps due to a streak of reasons, they are now living a much different life - looking backwards at better times. 

In the book of Luke, Jesus told his disciples a story about a son who was in a hurry to get out on his own.  The son asked his dad for his inheritance, gathered his things, then "set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living."  Eventually the son reached his lowest point when he found himself so hungry that he envied the pigs he'd been hired to feed because they at least were fed.  And that is when he remembers how good he once had it.  

The majority of the people I spoke of before - the ones who were once on top of the world - can probably attribute their demise to some event or circumstance that was out of their control: an injury that cost them their job, a change in the stock market they couldn't have foreseen, or a betrayal or injustice from a person they had trusted.  Spiritually speaking though, the majority of Christians who are looking backwards toward better days (think "backsliders" if you speak Christianese), can relate to the son in Jesus' story who certainly would never have CHOSEN such an outcome for himself.... but who finally reaches the point where he must admit to himself - there with the pigs in a desperate state of self-reflection - that he and only he has made the choices that did in fact bring him to such a state.

My husband Cory and I met at a Bible school we both attended after high school.  There were about 300 young adults like us there at the time, we made some really great friends that we're still close to today, and it was an experience neither of us will ever truly be able to describe fully enough to make an 'outsider' GET it.   But I can say the thing that defined our time and our friendships and our experiences there was that with very few exceptions most of us there were walking closer and more intimately with God during those 2 years than we ever had before (good thing) and - for too many of us - than we have ever since (bad thing).  That has meant that in the years following such an intimate time of growing in God and finding purpose in Him, a lot of people who were so ready to get out on their own ... and who decided to 'set out for a distant country'... are now finding themselves feeling hungry and remembering how good they once had it.

I was reminded of the prodigal son story a few years ago and ended up writing the song below after spending a weekend with a friend of mine, catching each other up on our lives "post-Bible School."   It only took a few minutes of  listening to her that weekend for me to recognize the change that was taking place:  the joy I once witnessed in her eyes when she would tell me about her vision and share with me her hopes and what she'd been reading about or studying was now replaced with a look of panic and guilt; there was even some anger there and bitterness that had been stirring for some time.  And I wondered if she could even remember where home was or if she was still in the process of 'squandering' and would have to eat with the pigs before she'd see clearly enough to remember. 

To anyone who might find themselves in a similar place as my friend that weekend, they need only to read the end of Jesus' story:

"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!  I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'  So he got up and went to his father.  But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him.  Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." 

Click here to listen:  "Portrait of a Prodigal"