In one way or another, we’ve all had to take the long walk home. Whether it was the fights along the path or the impending doom you sensed you’d receive once you stepped in, it’s as if life slowed down. Each step you took your feet couldn’t get you there fast enough. Nonetheless, you were compelled to take the journey. In the story of the prodigal son, we learn of a young man who runs away from home. And while he doesn’t leave empty handed, at some point he realizes the riches he carried didn’t compare to the abundant love found in his father’s house. Oftentimes, when reading this scripture, we tend to place little value on the other son’s journey. He was lost too, it was evident in his resentment for the celebration taking place in honor of his brother. All the same, the father offered him the warm assurance of love he needed. Whenever Jesus shares a story listen up because it’s an opportunity to see ourselves in it. So which journey in some way represents your own? Which son are you?

Do you remember your long walk home?

1. Pig Pens‍

‍When compared to the extravagant goodness of God, the world’s alternatives for comfort are cheap. These alternatives can drive us to our lowest point, our figurative pig pens. Thankfully, with God there is no muck, no mire in life too hard to clean up.

2. Paved Roads

Leaving the pig pen to go back home is hard enough without additional obstacles along the way. This is where a paved road comes in handy, a smooth path to make your route back to the Father that much easier.

The saying is true, home is where the heart is. The heart of God draws us back to him, whether we were lost on the inside or lured away to the outside. God is so good that regardless of the mess we’ve found ourselves in, he always manages a way for us to land on the paved road back to him. He may have paved it himself, but more often than not, he commissions members of the family to set the work in motion for others. They’re the anonymous bricklayers who will not know the full impact of their work till heaven. The invitation to this commission is open to you as God’s child. How much are you willing to lay down to pave the way for someone else?