Article January 25, 1988 Issue

Turning for home

God has sometimes been pictured as a long way from us, or perhaps close to some people but not to others. Is either of these views really accurate?

Margaret H. Sullivan

"A Certain man had two sons." That is the beginning of a parable, or story, Christ Jesus told.^{See Luke 15:11–32 .} The events in this parable are wonderfully contemporary! And what Jesus was teaching of the love of God is also as fresh and alive today as when he first told the story.

In this parable of the prodigal son, as it is commonly called, a young man left home, apparently looking for something outside the family circle. Maybe he felt he needed to get away and really experience life. Off in "a far country" he did just that. He spent all of his money—his entire inheritance—and had what he probably thought was a wonderful time. But soon he was without any means to sustain his new life style.

As we look for some of the spiritual lessons in this story, we see that the young man was seeking happiness and satisfaction in the wrong direction. But when he experienced a change of heart, this awakening of his spiritual sense gave him a clear and possible solution. The Bible tells us that he "came to himself." With this change of heart he could reason more clearly. He saw that he could go home, even if only to be a servant in his father's house.

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Turning for home

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