“About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over
the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and
the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so
hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no
one gave him anything.
When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At
home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of
hunger!” Luke 15:14-17
So while on vacation, there are always these moments of
chaos and mayhem. For me, it’s when the
grandchildren in Georgia come into the picture.
Four of them. They are filled
with exuberance and joy. This should be
a time of happiness for my wife and me … when I see it coming. However when my wife says those infamous
words, “Sure, they can spend the night,” and I am not consulted, welcome to
chaos and mayhem. I am no fan of these
types of surprises. However, I am yet
thankful for all of them; my wife included. J
I could be alone, unloved, unemployed, or with a multitude of things to be
concerned with. However, God has blessed
me with this vacation where wife and children control my day. What would my world be like without them?
We should always have gratitude for the life God has
provided us. I recently got additional
insights from today’s verses from the book of Luke. We always focus on the story of the Prodigal
Son’s ungrateful ego in the beginning and humble return. In reading to the point of his epiphany, we
see a man destitute without hope. He has
nothing to look forward to or count on.
This is what a world without God looks like. No one to trust and with no to care for you
when you have nothing. Many who choose
to leave the world through suicide live in this kind of world, and this is
heartbreakingly sad. However, we DO have
an awesome God. It is the same God that
when Jonah was angry with God and filled with despair, He did not desert him. He provided shade for comfort (Jonah 4:6). This is a reminder of who God is; a merciful who
when we see nothing but despair provides us hope. He is ever present and always there. Furthermore, He has given us this wonderful
life that in good times and bad we are to be forever grateful for.
We are to embrace life.
Not complain. Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I
have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Thus, is there room for us to
either complain or be ungrateful? Would we prefer a world that the Prodigal Son
found himself in? Let us be as Paul
said, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who
belong to Christ Jesus.” (1
Thessalonians 5:18) What circumstances can you give
to God? How can you be remindful of the
world God has blessed you with? My
prayer is that we can be thankful of the joy God gives us even amidst chaos and
mayhem. Amen.
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