wasted either way

Thursday March 22nd, Luke 15: "There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, 'Father, I want right now what's coming to me.' 12-16 "So the father divided the property between them. It wasn't long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. One of the common Bible study techniques is to ask, “who are you in this story and why.” Though most of us in the church might not readily identify with the younger son, in many ways we are. There is the truly running away, spending time far from God’s kingdom, and many, including myself, have done just that. But there is also taking the gifts God has given us and running out to buy candy instead. Spending our time and talents on what we want instead of what God wants for us is more our speed. The danger of going to the far country is getting lost and not finding your way back. The danger of not going to the far country is not even knowing you are lost or need to find your way back. Either way, the old man is scanning the horizon just to get a glimpse of our face.