The last two weeks I have been in Paraguay. Once a year the different youth groups from the Mennonite churches come together for a “Youth Week.” I had the amazing opportunity to be the speaker and one of the subjects they gave me to speak on was the Father.
One of the best stories that reveals what our Father in Heaven is like is the story of the prodigal son. As I meditated on this story one verse revealed my entire mission for the week:
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!” Luke 15:17
The younger son basically told his father that he wishes he was dead and demanded he give him the money he would receive when his father died.
And you know the story, the son went off and partied it up and spent every last penny he had. He took the first job he could and started taking care of pigs. He was so hungry he wished he could just eat the pig food and all of a sudden…..
The Memory
In those days the land owner would go to the town square and hire workers for the day. The would agree on a wage for the day but it wasn’t his responsibility to feed them.
But…..his Father would feed them!
Feed them so much they couldn’t even eat anymore.
Imagine the joy on their faces when they, not only, got a days wages but also a full belly.
This is what the Lost Son remembered. His Father’s extravagance. When his Dad would give gifts to people when they didn’t deserve them. He remembered the joy on the worker’s faces and it drew him back to the Father.
That little memory of when his Father feed a bunch of people brought the son back.
As I thought about this I realized that’s my job in life. To give people an experience with the extravagance of the Father that they will never forget. Even if they decide to run off and live a life of sin and debauchery, one day that memory will pop back into their mind and it will draw them back to the Father.
May the purpose of your life be to give the world an experience of the Father’s goodness, a goodness so good they will never forget it.
