Open Arms

Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of Scripture from the book of Luke. 

Luke 15 ¹¹ And he said, A certain man had two sons: ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

¹³ And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. ¹⁴ And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

¹⁵ And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. ¹⁷ And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, ¹⁹ And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

²⁰ And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. ²² But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: ²³ And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: ²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

²⁵ Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.

²⁶ And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

²⁷ And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. ²⁸ And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.

²⁹ And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: ³⁰ But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

³¹ And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. ³² It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

Each of us are just like the prodigal son, because we all have a sinful past from which we have come. We have all made mistakes along the way, seeking after the things of this world and becoming involved with the pleasures of this life. But as the story illustrates, pursuing the things of this world will only bring you sorrow, because they separate us from a close relationship with the Heavenly Father. The thing that we think will bring us happiness, only pulls us further away from that which we need the most.

“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 16:25

The path towards eternal life begins by coming to your senses, and accepting the facts that we have sinned. It is to examine your own heart and be filled with regret and self-reproach for the wrongs that you have committed towards God or others. It is to admit the truth and recognize the error of your way, insomuch that it results in turning away from the world, and heading back home to God. This is a change of heart, which results in a change of direction in one’s life. It is only then that we can begin our walk back to God, humbly accepting our faults, and ready to confess our deeds.

When the son finally approached his Father, he quickly admitted that what he had done was wrong. He felt so bad about it, that he was ready to be treated like a hired slave. It is only when you possess this attitude of contrition, that things can ever change in your life. It is more than just confession alone, but a state of one’s sincere heart towards God. It’s understanding the goodness of God, and your own depravity. It’s understanding how wonderful that you once had it, and recognizing your own weaknesses. It’s understanding that you are a sinner, and knowing that you have no one to blame but yourself. 

It is only when the glass of one’s pride is shattered, that the tears of compunction can flow. It is only through humbleness of the heart, that one can find forgiveness with God or others. It is only when you confess your faults, that they can eventually be blotted out forever. Before restoration can happen, these qualities must be present in one’s heart, because it is only when you humble yourself in the sight of God, that he can lift you up.

James 4 ⁹ Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Rather than allowing the son to suffer in his own self-reproach, the father quickly forgave him, and restored him to sonship once again. All of the deeds that had been committed, were completely forgotten, just like they had never happened. God does not remember our sins, but casts them away into the deep. As far as the north is from the south so far has he removed our transgression from us, never to be spoken of again, forgotten from the mind, and completely deleted from the memory.

Micah 7 ¹⁸ Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. ¹⁹ He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Christianity begins by understanding your own darkness. It is recognizing what a stupid fool that you have been, and kicking yourself for the poor choices that you have made. It is realizing that you have gone astray, and then returning to the bishop of your souls; Christ Jesus our Lord. 

How long will your own pride deny yourself the opportunity, to be completely surrounded by His…..

……Open Arms

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc  where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️