“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.” (Luke 15:12)
I do not know if his father paid him a weekly or monthly wage for his labors, or if food and board was supposed to be sufficient for him. I do know two things, he had been to the “big city” before and was mesmerized by its offerings, and he did not have enough money to go and do all he wanted to experience there.
I believe I can say this in all honesty also, his love for his father was not lessoned by his enticement of the world, nor was his father’s love for him diminished any as he watched his son walk away.
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)
We are not always wise with the things of this world that we possess, they are not always in some form used for the glory of God, but not always are they used in some way towards the lust of our flesh, it is the seeking of more than what we already possess that can ensnare us.
Everything that young man needed was at home, at his father’s house, but not all that he wanted.
If you continuously have all that you need, but few of your wants are satisfied, and I speak here of those wants, those desires that are not in anyway sinful, can you remain content? A very large percentage of people cannot, debt, being a slave to the lender, holds no internal repulsion to them. Some live paycheck to paycheck, barely enough to get through the week, while others, as soon as they are paid, rush out and fulfill their wants on any number of fleshly desires.
That young man gave no consideration to the future, he did not seek for profit by labor or usury, no investments, no business started, just spend it until its gone. And it is quite easy to see in that account that there were many in his life at that time that were more than willing to assist him in that.
If you will, dreaming about all those enticements out there on the farm, many miles from town, driven by visions of enticing pleasures, but not able to do anything about it unless his father gave him a bag of money.
Have you ever noticed that he did not want it bad enough to go without anything in his wallet? That it was not all consuming enough to take a chance and see how it would go?
He did not stop loving his father, nor did his father love him any less as he watched him walk away.
“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” (Psalm 107:1)
We used to call it “sowing your wild oats,” and it can be a great compulsion on some that are young. That prodigal son’s father understood those emotions full well, just as your Father in heaven does, and you must understand this truth, if our Father in heaven believes it best to leave you at the hog’s trough until you come to your senses, that is what He will do.
We want more, and then when we get it, we want something else, something more.
There are those who are blessed to see this truth, that everything of this world in time loses its luster, the shine of all it has to offer is nothing more than an illusion. But I fear this is also a truth to many, they can see the Lord Jesus Christ, but they look right past Him and stare instead at those streets of gold, those gates of pearl, at those pleasures forevermore.
His father let him go and then welcomed him back. If you have the Lord Jesus Christ, you already have all that you could ever need or want.
