For thought and meditation

[rl69]

So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.—Luke 15:20 (http://harvest.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4f108f827aed8d503b5fca9fa&id=650fc4928f&e=3dd732485b)Even when raised in godly homes, kids sometimes rebel. Sometimes children go astray—and parents feel like they somehow failed. My own sons had prodigal times in their lives. Both strayed from their faith for a time. But we never gave up on them. And both of them came back to Christ.

Jesus told a story of a prodigal son. There was a dad who had two sons. The youngest son came to him and asked for his portion of the inheritance. It wasn't long until that boy had blown the family fortune on prostitutes, drunkenness, and all kinds of things. One day, the son—starving to death, miserable, and broke—makes his way home. Jesus says the father saw the son and began to run toward him and threw his arms around him, saying, "This my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found" (see Luke 15:11–24).

Here is the point I want to bring up: this boy was raised in a loving home but he still rebelled. This can happen. If you have a child that goes prodigal, stay true to your beliefs. Hold your course. When my son Christopher was in his prodigal phase, he always knew I cared. I kept communication open even if he didn't communicate with me. He always knew I loved him.

Maybe it is a hard day for you today. Maybe you haven't heard from your kids lately. Maybe you haven't talked to them for a while. They don't call. They don't want your faith and they don't want your life. But don't give up—we should never give up on our kids. Keep praying.

Listen to this: your children can escape your presence but they can never escape your prayers. Keep praying for them.

[Pine Baron]

Being a parent is a lifelong exercise in unconditional love. Same as Faith.

[GhostHawk]

You could be talking about me there RL69.

You name it I did it, black sheep of the family. Walked my own path for 40 years.

While I love my parents dearly my father was/is a control freak.

I learned early on not to try to take him on in a face to face head on fight.

The funny thing is that my brothers and sister pretty much when they went to college moved out and never came back. I was different, I kept coming back.

I don't think I ever totally lost my faith or belief in the Lord.
But I am very jaded about the church, what man has done to organized religion. Also what man has done in the name of that religion. They all have bloody hands.

From my point of view Jesus's virginal innocent bride the church has been turned into the painted ***** of Babylon.

There are exceptions of course but even in those. How many of those there are there to see and be seen? To make connections and business deals? To impress with their fine feathers? And what does any of that have to do with a belief in our Lord?

They are Sunday morning Christians and christian in name only.

Sorry I am in a dour mood this morning. -20 windchill outside and spring is 2 months away. Sigh.

[USMC87]

A great lesson for all of us, I have never experienced this and am so thankful. I pray that I will always be what I should be in Christ to my kids.

[Blackwater]

So much brutal truth in this post! I have a friend whose son did time in the big house. He worked at a new car dealership and was taking part in a not so smart process of changing cars VIN#'s, and selling stolen cars, and reworked cars with stolen parts. He learned his lesson, and was at long last, finally humbled by prison. It worked as it was supposed to in his case.

This friend's daughter also went bad. She reportedly had had 3 or 4 abortions. She was very pretty, but it turned out to be her curse, rather than a blessing. She found she could use her beauty and wiles (she was smart, like the son, but assumed FAR too much, and used her "smarts" very unwisely) to get whatever and whoever she wanted .... or so she thought. And she basically threw her youth away doing all sorts of things. She reportedly was a "dancer," and I'm pretty sure it was at a nudie club, where she probably plied her wiles to get all the money she wanted. But all that money could never bring her happiness or satisfaction, and she's finally settled down, by all appearances, and I can only hope she comes to know the Lord. I'm not entirely sure either of them do presently, and almost never get to see them any more. I pray for them. I think the Mom, who was a teacher, and fell for the liberal mantra, is largely to blame for how they turned out. My friend was a traditionally inclined Dad, and did as good a job as he could, but the allure of the Mom's "free thinking" seems to have appealed to the kids more than responsiblity, etc. He's been long suffering, but has never given up the fight for them. I believe it's still an on-going proposition, but MUCH better now than it was. Life has a way of bringing the rebellious to their knees, eventually.

And another friend recently lost his only son to a heroin overdose, and he's a really good man and tried to be the best father he knew how to be. He worked a lot, and I think, from all I've seen and know of, that it was just "the outside world" that got to the son, and wound up costing him his life.

Stories like these are SO common today! Keep your kids close, and TALK to them, and don't do it "objectively!" Talk to them as real people you care about. From what I've seen in my time, there's really no substitute for that. If they know you truly care about them, and you ask them a lot of pertinent questions, they at the very least, know you truly care and love them, and love them enough to give them your time - something too many parents today just don't give their kids. I believe kids take how much time and effort you take up with them as THE real indication of whether you truly love them or not.

But Christ came to offer ALL of us Redemption, and that will always provide hope to families in turmoil and trouble. And prayer, diligently and earnestly applied, is THE biggest and best resource available. Some find they've erred, and try to correct whatever the error is, and find their efforts resisted often. But keep it up, and keep up the praying. It matters. Often, it matters enough to save them. One can't change yesterday. All we CAN do is revise our approach and actions TODAY.

I'm just glad I didn't have to grow up in all that the world presents to our kids today! I might not be here! And THAT, my friends, is very humbling!