Distance Devotions – April 16, 2020
Luke 15:16, 17 – And When He Came to Himself
Luke 15:16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Every believer should love Luke chapter fifteen. What riches of grace are found there! We see the distance of the sheep, the deadness of the coin, and the departure of the son. The sheep, of course, is a picture of a sinner wandering from God. The shepherd went looking for the lost sheep because it could not find its way back home without the shepherd. I am so thankful the Lord Jesus came looking for us when we were separated from our Creator by our rebelliousness and sin. Like the coin, without any life in itself, it was lost and the woman needed to sweep and clean to find the coin. So, we, dead in trespasses and sin, without any spiritual life, could not discover ourselves. The Holy Spirit in His office of convicting power swept our hearts and found us hidden in our sins, but brought us to the Savior!
Let me also say this about the deadness of the coin. Though we are dead in trespasses and sins, it does not mean that we are like a corpse. Sinners are active in the spiritual realm every day. They sin every day. A lost sinner has no spiritual life of God in him. There is no spark of divinity to fan nor will education bring the sinner to God. We must be drawn by the Holy Spirit to faith in Christ. Thank God that is the function of the Spirit in this world.
Now, to our text. The younger son, with no respect for his father, asked for and received his portion (one third) of the inheritance and quickly went away to live a life of debauchery. I see the freeness that the father gave to the son in volition. We are free moral agents and are responsible to believe on Christ. I see also the patience of the father. No doubt but that he looked every day, yearning for the return of his son. What joy they experienced when he did return. But note the words, when he came to himself. Until that moment, rebellion lived in his heart. He was not going to admit defeat. The shame would be too great. Yet, the goodness of the father, the riches he had, and the deep, deep longing that had been created by knowledge of the separation brought the young man to his senses.
What is it going to take to get you to your senses? When will you come to yourself and recognize that you are lost? The biggest obstacle to the average person coming to Christ is that they refuse to admit they are lost. Listen to this, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) You cannot hide where He cannot find you (the coin), you cannot go so far away that He gives us looking (the sheep), and you cannot sin too deeply for Him to forgive (the son). You have the blessed invitation of the King of Kings, the Savior of all men, the Lord Jesus Christ: And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. (John 12:32) I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:16)
Pastor F. J. Weems III