HOME AT LAST?

I know its been a while since you heard from me. Forgive me?😢Thanks guys. I knew I was graced to have you as an audience.😇 

In case you missed part 2 of Martin's 'dramatic' life in the city, you could start here. Lets get right into it. Shall we? Where were we? Right.

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Back in the city, nothing seemed to be working for Martin. The job he knew he would get as soon as he started making applications was a pipe dream. To make it worse, he never received a single job interview. With his bank account freed from all the weight it had a couple of months back, his credit card maxed out and the money he got from selling his car used to pay his arrears in rent, he knew he was at the end of his tether.

A year was almost up since his leaving home and he was running out of options. With barely any money to buy his food let alone finance his looming alcohol addiction, Martin knew something had to give. For a couple of weeks, he toyed with the idea of calling home. But the shame, the shame that hovered over him was something else.

It was a gloomy Friday morning. The rain was heavy and the cold unbearable, the kind that keeps you in your sheets all day. Martin, now a shadow of his former self, his face all gaunt and scrawny and his once pronounced stomach now a bag of bones, struggled to get out of bed to get himself a glass of water. Depression was gnawing its claws down his thoughts. His shaky hands could barely hold the glass still, courtesy of sleeping hungry for over 3 weeks. He was just about to go back to bed when he heard a knock at his door.

“Are you Martin?” A man asked when he asked when he answered the door.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“This is your notice to vacate this house. Unfortunately, we can no longer condone your lateness in paying rent. You have until tomorrow.” The man finished as he dropped the notice on Martin’s hand.

Martin shut the door and sunk to the floor, the little strength he had on completely drained, and broke down.

I am sure by now you know where I got the inspiration from this story.

Luke 15:11-32, New King James Version

The Parable of the Lost Son

¹¹ Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. ¹³ And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with ^[a]prodigal living. ¹⁴ But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. ¹⁵ Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the ^[b]pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything…

The Allure of Sin

The prodigal son thought moving away from home was the ticket to freedom from the cloistered life he thought he lived. He thought by asking for his inheritance to live life out large, away from all the rules; he was doing himself a favor. I am certain that nothing prepared him for the shock he got once all his wealth was plundered.

‘There is nothing as exciting as going the whole nine yards with your current boyfriend. After all, we will get married.’

‘We only live once, I can still go partying once in a while. A little fun never killed anyone.’

‘Mum has too many rules, I might as well break a few; maybe go for that house party. She is out of town after all. She wouldn’t know.’

‘I know this guy isn’t saved, but he is fun to be with, he has a great heart. I know he can change.’

Are these not the conversations we entertain in our minds as believers? Paul the Apostle when addressing the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 4: 27 asked them not to…give the devil a foothold.

The fleeting pleasures of sin are alluring. It’s by entertaining such thoughts that we forget how safe and secure we are from all alarms when we are sheltered by our Father. The grass is not greener on the other side of ‘heaven’. I promise you. What awaits you is pain, depression, regret…the list is endless. The beginning will be great, that I assure you. The thrill of going partying with your friends to blow off that steam may be great at first, but have you thought about what will happen when you get hooked to the drugs and alcohol, and end up making choices you promised God you never would?

Visiting that guy you like from the worship team will also keep you excited. Before you know it, the visits may grow frequent and later turn to sleepovers. You and this guy will start poking lions and before you now it, the lions will awaken. Are you ready to deal with these consequences?

My Appeal

If ever there was a time to cling desperately to your heavenly Father, this is it. The times are evil says the Bible. My appeal today is to believers who are entertaining thoughts of leaving the faith because you find your unbelieving friends are having much more fun than you are. My appeal also goes out to Christians who think they can eat their cake and have it. They can remain saved and still get away with sin from time to time. I also appeal to my Christian friends who are sitting on the fence. Serving the Lord on one end and living the life He forbids on the other.

It is not late. Return to the Lord and repent, then go and sin no more. A cloistered life is never really a bad life, especially if this life is hidden in Christ. Read the book of Psalms 91 and see the promises God your Father offers to those who remain under His shelter.

Until next time, let’s remember, Iron Sharpens Iron, as I sharpen you, sharpen me as well.😄😊