Repenting Point
I meditate on the Prodigal Son story that Doug will speak on. I see nothing…just blank…30 minutes go by…blank. Then, Doug begins to talk about the son being so hungry he wants to eat the pigs’ food…and how the father is heartbroken by seeing his son squandering his own life. An image pops into my mind…Jesus’ body half buried in mud. I think, ‘Uhm, that’s just too extreme.’ But, then I sense a nudge in my spirit to go ahead. The image evolves…I see the son grabbing at food in the mud and then suddenly discovering his father’s (Jesus’) body. The son reels back in shock. Then, slowly, it dawns on the son that his own choices have caused this tragedy: His father has died trying to reach him. The Father has completely taken the son’s pain into himself. Doug emphasizes repentance means to ‘turn around,’ so this is a turning point for sure. But, when any of us feels God has embraced us and all our self-inflicted pain, and we receive that embrace...this is our repenting point.
“…his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” —Luke 15:20