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<<First Name>>, I've often felt like the younger brother. This is not much of a stretch since I am the youngest of four children. But when it comes to the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, the connotations of that role are quite different. When struggling with a secret sexual sin, I felt often that I was "running off to the far country" in rejection of what my Heavenly Father intended for my life. I could understand how the son would want to reject what his father was offering, even though objectively, it was of great value. We sometimes push away or reject things that are valuable for us because something else seems more appealing.
What was challenging to get my head around was the father's response when the son came home. In my growing up, I gleaned the idea that performance - doing all the right things all the time on the outside - was the way to be loved. Failures or just simply not doing everything you were supposed to would put you at risk for a loss of love or punishment. This idea that the son could overtly reject his father, squander all he had been given, and then return to the loving embrace of his father was something my heart could not understand. The concept was nice, but the emotional reality felt outside my experience.
When my sexual struggle reached its height, I finally reached the place of being willing to try something different than what I had previously conceived. As I reached out for and received support from a ministry like Mid-Valley Fellowship, I experienced something different. In this place where I was sharing the deepest, darkest secrets of my life, I was truly receiving love in a new way. Love — that combination of acceptance (what you do doesn't change how I feel about you), affirmation (look at these amazing things God has put in you), and accountability (this is God's intent for you, and wandering outside of it will be painful for you and others). This was the Gospel embodied, helping me understand the Father's heart toward me. It was transformational!
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These days, I get the privilege of standing in the role of the father (along with the rest of our team of staff and volunteers) and welcoming prodigals home. There is often lots of waiting, anticipating, sadness, hoping, and great joy when a son (or daughter) decides it's time to return.
Though it may feel antithetical in the challenges of 2020, we are inviting you to celebrate with us — to celebrate prodigals returning home. God is still at work, no matter what is happening in the visible world around us. God's kingdom advances, even if we are surrounded by challenges. God is still welcoming prodigals home. Will you join us in the celebration?
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