Have you ever been “wowed” by a sermon? Yesterday in church, I was.
The Scripture for the day was such a familiar one- the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. Somewhere in Heaven, volumes must be stored up on this parable. One of my favorite oldie but goldie Contemporary Christian songs is “When God Ran” by Benny Hester and sung by Phillips, Craig & Dean.
But, my priest, Chris Culpepper at Christ the Redeemer Anglican, decided to concentrate on the least talked about person in the parable. Not the son, not the father, not the elder brother- but the man the prodigal son turned to after he’d squandered all his money. “After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in the country and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country , who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.” ( vs. 15-16)
That citizen , our wise pastor said, is the father of lies. The citizen of a country not our own as the children of God, i.e. the world. The world is in famine for love, acceptance and truth, yet it seeks it elsewhere than in its Creator. Instead of humbling ourselves to our Heavenly Father, we think we have done too much to ever return to Him. So we turn to another- a substitute father. He gets us to do things we thought we’d never do and convinces us that is the way things are because of what we’ve done.
Pigs were taboo to the Hebrews. This son had sunk as low as he could. And here is the key- no one gave him anything. Not food, not shelter, and certainly not forgiveness.
My priest challenged us, and I pass it on to you. What is it that you have yet to come to God about? Is the father of lies whispering that you are too sinful? Is your pride keeping you from feasting on God’s mercy? Are you instead starving for His grace, but afraid to receive it?
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (I John 2:1-2)
Stop wallowing in the mud of your past with the pigs. Don’t listen to the whisperings of the father of lies. Listen to Jesus and come home.
Wow this is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing! God bless you! 😀
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Reblogged this on iChristian and commented:
Fantastic article! “In a Sermon about wallowing with pigs”
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