TUESDAY, AUGUST 13
“The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate before you die.’”
Luke 15:12 (NLT2)
LIES THAT LEAD US AWAY FROM HOME: THE THINGS OF THIS EARTH WILL SATISFY
A funeral service was being held for a woman who had just passed away. At the end of the service the pallbearers were carrying the casket out of the chapel when they accidently hit the wall and it jarred the casket pretty hard. Then all of a sudden there was a faint groan coming from the casket. So the casket was opened and they found the woman was still alive. She lived for another 10 years, then died. A ceremony was held again for her at the same chapel and at the end of the funeral the same pallbearers carry her out again and as they are walking the husband yells, “Watch out for the wall!”
It’s a terrible thing to wish someone was dead. But in Luke 15, the younger son basically wishes his father was dead. We learned on Sunday that the younger son’s request for his part of the estate was very disrespectful. It was almost as if he was wishing his father was already dead so he could get his inheritance. He wanted the father’s material possessions more than he wanted the father.
It’s so easy for us to get caught in a similar trap today. We can find ourselves wanting the blessings of God but not really wanting a relationship with God. And if God doesn’t give us the blessings we want, we are tempted to walk away and end up far from home. Author Warren Weirsbe remarked, “We are always heading for trouble whenever we value things more than people, pleasure more than duty, and distant scenes more than the blessings we have right at home.” What is the evidence in your life that you value God more than the things God can provide?
