looking for a party

Thursday March 18th, 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 are the times when we are truly running away, spending time far from God’s kingdom, and many, including myself, have done just that at various points in our lives. I am also sure many of us can point to the times in our lives when we were or are busy taking the many glorious gifts God has given us and running out to spend time, energy and money away from God. But then there are the times when we are the older brother. Spending our time and talents on what we want instead of what God wants for us and insisting it is Gods idea. 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. He wants to throw a party for us and would really like us all to be there.