Using God’s Stuff

And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. — Luke 15:12

Until a couple of weeks ago, the thought had never occurred to me that the prodigal son had to use daddy’s stuff in order to live how he wanted to live. In the same way, people who reject God have to use the gifts that He gave them in order to live the way they want. Let me explain.

If I could only take one thing back from my past, it would be my decision to be sexually immoral in my teens and early twenties. I have no excuse. I knew exactly what the Father expected of me. God gave me a gift . . . Purity. That purity was designed for me to give my wife after we took our marriage vows. Instead, I demanded my share of the property now. I took my Father’s gift and squandered it in wasteful living. Just like the father in the story, God forgave me. But, just like the father in the story, God didn’t give me back what I had squandered. Fortunately, He did replace all that with something better . . . Himself. He welcomed me home even though I wasted what He gave me.

In 2011, a study determined that 22 million people, or about 9% of the American population use illegal drugs. In order to use illegal drugs, a person has to use the breath that God gave them. They must use the veins that were created on the day He breathed life into man. They must use stomach He created or the lungs that were formed. All to fill a void that He gave His life to fill.

If you are reading this, God gave you a mind that can think, learn and discern. The majority are simply wasting their God given intelligence. This year, I will watch student after student waste their educational opportunity. After they barely graduate and can’t find a job, they will wish they had done more with their time. I will watch people cling to their cell phones rather than cling to God’s Word. I will watch people get boyfriends or girlfriends and forget all about the things of God. They will use the desires God has given them and move far away from Him.

Lest you think I am bashing people, I am mostly bashing myself . . . For I have done the majority of these things.

But, like the prodigal son, I didn’t like where all this wasteful living led me. I didn’t like the pigpen. Therefore, with the smell of sin all over me, I went back to my Father begging to be His servant.

He restored me as His son.

Lord, may I never take what you have given me and do anything but honor You for the rest of my days.

Later

Adam