Lesson learned from a Vegetable

Our phone hasn't been working properly for over a week and this morning the repair man came to take a look at the issue. Since the DSL would be down for the duration of the repair being made I decided to put in a Veggie Tale movie, The Wonderful Wizard of HA's. This particular movie is about the bible story of the Prodigal Son with a twist of course. As you can guess from the title the movie is a mixture of similarities of the Wizard of Oz's but I would say that the ending in the Veggie movie is a little more sweet.

Most of us are familiar with the story of the prodigal son in which he says "I've had enough of this, I'm going to take my inheritance and leave." So he does. The son spends all of his money and when he has run out he finds himself working on a pig farm, literally, sleeping with the pigs. Then he says to himself "My fathers workers had more than this I will return to my father and ask him for a job." The son, decides to humble himself and returns to his father. I think scripture tells this next part the best (really all of it lol) Luke 15vs "²⁰ “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ²³ And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; ²⁴ for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry."

Then we find out how the other son reacts to all of this

"²⁸ “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. ³⁰ But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
³¹ “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. ³² It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”

I will not lie, I will admit that I too often am like the 2nd son. I have my lists of things that I do, I have the times when I have looked at my Father and said..."but I have done....why not have you given certain things to me." And I am not the least bit happy that the 1st son is really back. As I write this I am over whelmed with the depth of this very sin that I am very guilty of condemning others for doing.  God is teaching me, showing me, so much of my ugly heart. He is humbling me and in the process of doing so, I believe he is changing me.  I said of myself  in a small group meeting.."I have a very sinful and ugly heart. Don't let my sweet smile, soft eyes, and quiet personality fool you." Friends, this is very true. Without Christs work on the Cross and the overwhelming love that he has poured into my life through others I would not be the person that so many of you see.

All of this to say that at the end of the Veggie Tale version of this Bible Story. Bob the Tomato, who (or is it whom?) I usually ignore at the end simply because I'm ready to break away from the animated t.v. child talking...(lol) says..."You can always go back to God and he can't wait to see you."


I was really struck by this simple yet profound truth! God really is waiting with open arms for whomever will come back to him. Like the father of the prodigal son, God not only wants to greet you (and me) but he wants to LAVISH his love upon us. He wants us to know how thrilled he is to have us back under his protection, back in his arms :)

I have no idea where you are at in your own relationship with the Lord. But in the words of a silly red vegetable "You can always go back to God and he can't wait to see you."