Luke 15:14-16

Luke 15:14-16

And after he had spent everything, a mighty famine became against that region and he began to have serious want.  And after departing, he was being joined with one of the citizens of that land and he sent him into the field to feed the pigs.  And he was desiring for his stomach to be full from the fruit that the pigs were eating.  But nobody was giving it to him.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

We can learn a serious lesson about being prepared.  Yes, we are to trust God’s provision.  However, there is a serious difference between living reasonably while trusting God and living frivolously while expecting God to care for you anyways!  This young man fritters away everything he has without a thought.  He does it in a time of plenty, not having the experience to know that times of plenty don’t usually last too long.

Is it easy for you to live frivolously when there is plenty to go around?  Why can moderation be hard to manage?

Second Thought:

As we expect, once the money is gone there is a famine in the land.  Of course there is!  When we don’t prepare during the good times, we have nothing left in the bad times!  Our ignorance and immaturity is shown not in times of plenty but rather in times of need.

Why do you think our mistakes are most easily seen in difficult times?  Why is it easy to hide our faults and flaws in our times of ease?

Third Thought:

In spite of the negative things that I have said about this young man, we now begin to find something redeemable.  It shouldn’t surprise us that this redeemable nature comes out when he has hit rock bottom.  However, notice what this man goes and does.  He attaches himself to someone who has some wealth.  He hires himself out and gets a job.  Even better, he gets a job feeding pigs.  If needed, he could borrow food from what the pigs are eating!  For the record, the pigs are eating a fruit that grows in a horn shape and was considered by the wealth to only be good enough for fattening up pigs.  However, lower strata society did eat what was being fed to the pigs as a part of their regular diet, especially in times of need.

Have you had a time in your life when you hit rock bottom?  How were you able to find redeemable qualities in those times?  How were you able to find good priorities in life in those times?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 15:17-24