Lessons from the prodigal

Todd Barrier

Last week we began a series called “Becoming a Statistic.” It is based on studies that have shown at least 50 percent of high school students leave the faith after graduation while transitioning to college life. This is the right time of year to get into this type of subject with colleges starting back soon. This is a good tool for anyone facing changes that might hurt their relationship with God. The series is based on the Parable of the lost son in Luke 15:11-32.

Looking at this text, how can we avoid “Becoming a Statistic?” The first bit of advice I think we can learn is “Don’t take in all new experiences at once.” When transitioning to a new place or a new season in life we can have the opportunity to participate in a lot of new things. Unfortunately, we sometimes try to do everything at once. This is what the son in our story did. In verses 11-13 we see the son ask his father to give him all his inheritance that he would receive in the future – now. He goes away and takes in all the new things at once and wastes all he has been given. This was an all-around selfish decision but also a foolish one. He did so much all at once he was unable to make good decisions because he was blinded by his selfishness, and it led to the sad state he later found himself in.

When we take in so many things at once, it squeezes other things out and that can happen to our relationship with God. So be careful about taking in all new things at once. There will be little room left for what we have always held dear. We will continue with this series next week when we look at what we can learn from verses 13-14.