What about the “good” one?
January 28, 2012 | Encouragement for Today, Q&A: Dear Friend
Dear Suzie,
I loved your devo on the prodigal child, but could you share some light of encouragement regarding those of us that keep the faith and who are trying continually to be obedient to the father? We suffer because we are neglected and in need of encouragement.
Not the prodigal child
Dear friend,
I get it. You are doing what is right and yet the one who does it all wrong gets welcomed home with open arms.
Why bother, you might ask? Why keep doing what is good, when its not seen?
My response is one word: grace.
We want, regardless of whether we have been “good” or not, to live in that grace. To fully understand that none of us deserve God’s unconditional love and yet He willingly, overwhelmingly pours it out.
The story of the prodigal and his brother is all about grace. It’s the heart of Christianity. This morning I got to hear Austin speak (the prodigal I shared about in the Encouragement for Today devo, A Praying Mama). He shared how he completely lost his way. Forgot who he was. His prodigal period is not a time that he treasures. It’s a time that he would trade in a heartbeat with those in his family who were “good”.
So, there’s grace for Austin because God grieves over the one who is lost.
But there’s also grace for you. As you choose the “good” way, not because it’s what is expected, but because you love God, then you discover the immeasurable depths of God’s grace as you follow in His footsteps.
We don’t want the brokenness of living away from Him. We don’t want to experience a life or a path that leads me away from what He has for us.
We do want to walk into those welcoming arms daily, as he opens them wide, welcoming you and I to daily follow Him where only He knows we can go, to experience another day of growing, stretching, becoming who God knows we can be.
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