Never Too Far

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

"And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living" (Luke 15:13).

Have you ever wondered why the prodigal son left for a far country to live it up?

I can think of several reasons:

• He knew he was doing wrong and didn't want those who knew who he was to see him.
• He knew he would sin but didn't want to embarrass his family.
• He didn't want to be told he was in the wrong.
• He didn't want anyone trying to convince him to stop.

Whatever the reason, he put distance between himself and those who cared about him. And when his sins caused his "fun" to collapse around him, that same distance kept him away longer than he needed to. It wasn't until he began thinking that pig swill looked appetizing that he realized he could return. "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!" (Luke 15:17). We call that hitting the bottom these days. Only then did he consider humbling himself in the eyes of his father.

But regardless of the distance that this man put between him and home, he did return. My friend, you are never too far off into sin that you can't return home.