One day the younger son came to his father and said,
“Father, eventually I’m going to inherit my share of your estate. Rather than
waiting until you die, I want you to give me my share now.” And so the father
liquidated assets and divided them.
Luke 15:12
When my husband and I were raising our children, God put the
responsibility on our shoulders to love, protect, guide, and encourage them.
When they were small they looked to us for all their needs. As time went on,
they soon learned basic living skills to become a little less dependent. Little
by little they became more independent until eventually, the time came to
totally release them.
It is a strange period of life going from total dependence
to total independence. My husband and I had done our job. Now it was time to
let them make their own decisions. When you see them make a bad choice, you
want to scold and reprimand, however, you must step back, place them in God’s
hands, and let them go. It’s a time of
real trust in the Lord. By letting go, you get to keep them. Holding on tight,
may cause you to lose them completely.
There is a story told in the Bible of a son who came to his
father asking for his inheritance. The father probably knew it was not a good
idea, however his son had come to an age where he had to let him go. The son left
home, and foolishly spent that money, living a life that was probably not the
way his father taught him. The father, in the meantime, missed his son and
waited patiently for him to return home.
There came a period of time, when the son had squandered
away all his money. There was a famine in the land and the son was not only
broke, but hungry also.
Luke 15: 17-20 tells the rest of the story: The son realized
that he had been very foolish. He thought, “All my father’s hired workers have
plenty of food. But here I am, almost dead because I have nothing to eat. I
will leave and go to my father. I will say to him: Father, I have sinned
against God and have done wrong to you. I am no longer worthy to be called your
son. But let me be like one of your hired workers.” So he left and went to his
father.
The father was there with open arms, rejoicing that his son
had returned home. The father had let him go, so the son felt free to return.
Had the father held on until the son rebelliously left, the son might not have ever
returned.
We must let go. Not only of our children, but our problems,
worries, fears, and guilt. God wants us to trust totally in Him. He will take
care of all these things, when we place them in His capable hands. God loves us
enough to let us go. He never forces us to stay with Him. If we have accepted
Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Savior, He knows that when we turn away, for a
period of time, we will eventually come back home. God’s solid foundation of
love, with endless living water and food, is a safe place where we were meant
to be, all along.
Dear Father,
I have sinned against you. Please forgive me. Thank you for
welcoming me back home. Amen
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