All posts tagged: Prodigal Son Parable

The missing piece


I am a firm believer that every one of us have a gift. We are all destined to do something in life that no one else could ever do. Even if we did our best to imitate somebody else’s gift we could never quite deliver like they do. Each one of us are uniquely created and strategically gifted and placed to do just one thing and do it like no one else could. I recently read the story about an eighty-six year old man named Jack Harris. It took him more than five-hour a day for eight years to complete a 5 ft jigsaw puzzle of James Tissot’s painting “The Prodigal Son” – only to find out that there was a missing piece. He looked for that piece but it was nowhere to be found. See, the piece was accidentally thrown away and the thought of not completing the puzzle left Jack really sad. Fortunately, the manufacturer heard Jack’s story about the missing piece and graciously custom-made that piece for him to complete building the puzzle. There is a song that only you could write, …

The lost and found column: The lost son


Part 3 I love reading the book of Luke. Chapter 15 is one of my favorite chapters in the entire book. Some people refer to it as the Lost and found Column of the Bible. That is because in this chapter we find three different parables: The parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost silver (coin) and the parable of the lost son. In this third column we are going to focus on the lost sheep. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to …

Nomads, Exile and Prodigal?


Some call them Nomads – those “wondering away from traditional religious institutions but say faith is still important to them.” I call them the free radicals – and they have exposed themselves to Satan’s most effective tool – Separate them as far from fellowship as possible, because in the long run they will grow cold. These people are in big trouble. Others are called Exiles – “exiles being those who are – still hopeful about their faith but feel stuck when they consider life’s challenges”. Jesus warns about this spiritual dilemma in Matthew 13:20-22. “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves …