"He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything." Luke 15:16
There's a part of the Prodigal Son story that I have never understood. The lost son squandered all he had, there was a famine in the land, and he hired himself out in order to survive. He longed to eat what the pigs were eating - but... Wasn't he getting paid?
The story says, "no one gave him anything."
Isn't that the way of the world? "Go ahead. You can work for me." We expect that we can survive on our own - away from God - because we have been told we will be paid. In reality, the way of the world will use us up without a second thought.
Lord, why do I so often chase those who would use me up? Why do I think I can survive without You? I know that feasts await me in the comfort of Your arms. Help me to flee the distant lands. Help me to come home.