Apparently,
only news items that mirror the dark side of our society warrant mention on the
evening news. Rarely do we see positive reflections of a society gone
derelict. In fact, you might call us
“The Prodigal Society” since we no longer care about pleasing God or allowing
him in our public places, including schools.
By
definition, “prodigal” means to leave a once-established place of safety and
affirmation and choose rather to live in the forbidden zone of self-deprecation
and indulgence. The Bible applied it to a son who desired to take his
inheritance and leave home. After all, his older brother was the heir apparent
to the family’s home and business. So, he traded his place of safety for a pit
of pig slop.
Yet,
it is not only individuals who have forsaken their place of safety and
provision, it is our society at large. It has become prodigal from the
provision and power that comes with a right relationship with a heavenly father
who loves them very much.
What
led up to our society becoming prodigal?
- The American church has left its place of authority in our society.
- It has wandered away from the provision of the Father.
- It has forsaken spiritual disciplines that enable it to hear from the Father.
- It has secularized and sanitized its program to a point of powerlessness and impotence.
- Those who stayed in the church grew complacent and territorial (like the older brother in the story).
We
have left the place of provision and power because we’ve gone after other
things. We need to return to the place where God can again touch our hearts.
Only
when God touches the human heart can real change—or even transformation—take
place. The human heart that invites God’s redeeming touch experiences what no
human agency can offer.
The
Father has his eye on the horizon—waiting for his people to return to Him. He
wants us to be proximal and not prodigal. He has an incredible plan
that includes us being in close proximity to his heart.
We
can no longer surrender to the maddening cries of secularism. It has taken us
far from where we really need to be.
It’s
time to come home.
