3/23/2019 LENTEN REFLECTION

Posted on Mar 23, 2019 by
[So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens
   who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,
   but nobody gave him any.
Coming to his senses he thought,
   ‘How many of my father’s hired workers
   have more than enough food to eat,
   but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
   “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
   treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’] (Lk. 15:15-19)
How far must we fall before we turn to our Lord? How destitute must we become before we realize we need God?
The parable of the Prodigal Son is perhaps one of the greatest illustrations of God’s merciful love (See Lk. 15:11-32).  We see that the Prodigal had to hit rock bottom before he returned home. In his sorry state he, though a Jew, serves pigs and even lusts after the pig food. Only at this lowest point of his life, when he realizes how his sins have messed up his life, does he notice his need to change.
How great does our anxiety and depression over the sins we’ve committed have to be before we realize our need for the Savior and His mercy? Do we have to hit  rock bottom like the prodigal son before we finally run to our Heavenly Father for help?
God is ready to forgive and heal. Am I willing yet to ask for His mercy?