Thank Goodness for Hungry

I am grateful for hunger.  It is what brings my children to the kitchen, or the dinner table.  It’s that 4:00 call in the afternoon from my husband asking what we are having for dinner.   It softens us.  It humbles us.  It keeps us needy and willing.  

One of my favorite stories of hunger is the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15.  Jesus tells us that there was a man with two sons.  The younger son asked for his share of the estate and left for a distant country.  There he squandered his wealth in “wild living”.  Scripture tells us “after he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.”   It says “He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.”  This is what you would call desperate hunger! 

So it was this intense excruciating hunger that served as the catalyst for his plan. He would go back to his father and ask to be a servant.  He knew that even the hired help of his father had plenty of food to eat.  He must have rehearsed his speech, “Father I have sinned against heaven AND you and I am no longer worthy of being called your son”.  That is what you call BEGGING! Begging to be taken back.  Begging to be fed. Begging to live! But no one could imagine what was coming next.  No one but Jesus and a Heavenly Father who wanted to paint a wild unbelievable picture of forgiveness. 

“He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him”.  This is what the hungry son’s father did.  HE RAN.  I have heard many a sermon about the ridiculousness of a Jewish man running during this time in history.  A man like this didn’t run.  It would have involved hiking up his long garments and it would have been very UNdignified.  But this father did not care about what he looked like or what others would think of him.  His running was about one thing, his son was lost and now was found.  And he couldn’t wait to have him in his arms.  That is joy.  That is love.  That is what forgiveness looks like! There is no evidence of a chip on his shoulder here.  No shaming. No asking about where all that money went! This father’s dream came true.  His actions scream what is going on in his heart.  And when he reaches his son it just gets better!

Can you imagine what this hungry son must have been thinking? Surely he was dreading his father’s reaction to him coming home penniless and pitiful.  He had squandered all of his inheritance on “wild living”.  Not necessarily what gets pats on the back from your father.  Remember what this son did was almost unthinkable.  Taking your inheritance before your father died was as if to say, I wish you were dead.  And here he was coming home with absolutely nothing left.  His father had every “right” to deny his existence.  To refuse him.  To bring up the fact that he was no longer welcome, no longer a part of the family.  That he didn’t deserve to come back, even as a servant.  But Jesus instead shares this parable to show us something we couldn’t  even imagine.  A picture of what OUR Heavenly Father does when we come back home with a humble heart.  He shows us the incredible love that God feels when we come to him,  even after we have denied him.  Even after we wished He was dead.  What Jesus was showing us is the Father’s heart towards his children.

“Quick!  Bring the best robe and put it on him.  Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it!  Let’s have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” This father was having nothing of the speech his son had likely been preparing to say all the way home.  He doesn’t even mention the poor decisions he must have made.  No he chooses to celebrate.  He wants to QUICKLY cover his son with the robe and the rings...symbols of his son ship.  THIS IS JUST SO CRAZY!!  He is lavishing grace upon grace on this son who SQUANDERED his wealth.  LOST IT ALL!!  I have to admit, it seems like reckless parenting!  Does this father remember what this child did??  Doesn’t a parent need to teach his son a lesson?! Wouldn’t forgiveness like at be too extravagant? 

It was.  

It is.  And it’s exactly how our father loves his children...with a crazy crazy amount of extravagance.  

This parable leaves me speechless.  I know I don’t love like this.  I don’t forgive like this.  I am more likely to keep a record of wrongs, especially if one of my children had wanted me dead. Yikes!  I am more like the older brother.  He saw all of this take place from afar...what about HIM? He never left!  Where is HIS party?  He may be thinking, “I have stayed here and was obedient and look where that got me...My brother left and lost everything and yet he is the celebrated one!”  And that would have exposed his heart.  That is what is displayed here for us to see.  Two hearts.  Two exposed hearts, one humbled and one full of pride.  And Jesus shows us who gets the party.

This parable should rock our world.  It was meant to.  The way this father responds to his repentant son can only SHATTER any preconceived idea of how our Heavenly father receives us when we come with a humble heart.  That is the key.  Our heart.  It is always the key.  It is always what matters.  It is the ONLY thing that matters to Him.  And He can always see our hearts.  This is terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.  But look what happens when we do bow our hearts before our father.  When we desperately just want to come home. He throws a party.  We are back.  All because of a humble and repentant heart.  And what caused his repentance?  His hunger.  A raw gnawing desperate hunger that launched his crazy idea to go home and beg for food.  And this is why I believe God created hunger.  It exposes our need.  It declares daily that we are unable to live life on our own.  We are needy people.  And He is the Bread of Life.  Thank you Lord for feeding us, and allowing us to be hungry.