I take tremendous comfort in the parable of The Prodigal Son. As you know, the prodigal son takes his inheritance and spoils his time and wealth away. In consequence of this, he is soon destitute and forced to labour in awful circumstances. Of significance to me is that the moment the prodigal "came to himself", his father was there; the prodigal's father raced to embrace him.
It is my heartfelt belief that no matter where we are, what awful circumstances we find ourselves in, or how badly we have sinned, the moment we turn to Him and come to our senses, that God is immediately there. He is swift to the rescue!!
This parable is about overcoming the awful mistakes we make in life. Yet, there is another way of considering this parable. Think for a moment about the actions you could take; the good things you might do if you had the courage or discipline for it. These missed opportunities hold each of us back from fulfilling God's plan for us. I believe it is in the life we might lead that sets apart our average life from the valiant life.
What we learn from the parable is that once we determine we want to live a valiant Christ-like life, that God is immediately there, ready to support us, ready to lend His loving power. Just as He frankly forgave the Prodigal for his sins, He too will quickly forgive us for the regular shortcomings in our daily service. Those missed opportunities, those failures, can be overcome, with His help.
What does this mean for us? It means...
--If you haven't made daily scripture a habit, you can....if you start today!
--If you find ministering difficult, or impossible to figure out, you can!! If you start now.
--If you want to be more loving, patient, kind and forgiving at home....you can if you start today!!!
I'm asking you to seriously consider stepping up your discipleship to the valiant life. I'm asking you to actually get better, to be a better priesthood holder, father and husband! Start now.
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