All the Way Home

 

I woke up last night with a song on my mind. I don’t know why it was on my mind, but it was. The strange thing is that it was a song that I have not heard in about 40 years. Our church youth ensemble used to sing it when I was in high school. We traveled each summer and did concerts at churches in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. Last night, I woke up with one of those songs stuck in my head. The song is “All the Way Home.” The version that we did was sung by a group called Truth.

My rebellion I called freedom
Took my birthright in its hand
And I woke up in the pigpen
Of a distant, alien land.

On the road back home to Father
I’ll not stop along the way
I was born to higher purpose
I’ll not waste another day
Won’t be camping on the border
Just in sight of what I’ve known
It is all the way or nothing
Yes, it’s all the way back home.

The song is obviously about the prodigal son from Luke 15. In addition to the song being stuck in my mind, I also felt compelled to write about it. Again, I am not sure why. When people run away from God, they almost always think that it will bring them freedom. No rules to keep me in bondage. Just doing what I want to do. But there is not much freedom in the pigpen. The road of rebellion (your way) never delivers on its promises. When sin and rebellion land you in the pigpen, you have not gained freedom, but you have actually embraced bondage. Freedom is found in the Father’s house. When your path has landed you in the pigpen, you have a choice to make. You can keep eating the pig slop and dig yourself deeper into the mud. Or you can repent and turn to the Lord. That’s what the song is about. I am headed back home to my father. I am not going to stop short of complete reconciliation. I will not waste another day of my life in the pigpen. I am going all the way back home. I write this to any and all the prodigals out there. Get yourself a big taste of the pig slop of sin and rebellion. Is that what you want for the rest of your life? God has something far better for you. If you will turn to Him in repentance and faith, He will graciously receive you. Come back home. All the way back home.

Popular posts from this blog

Hiking in Torreya State Park

Recently, my wife and I went hiking in Torreya State Park. The park is named for a rare species of the Torreya tree. This tree is only found in 4 locations on earth. Torreya State Park is one of those locations. The park is about an hour away from our house. We have enjoyed hiking there several times over the years. The Torreya Trail is a 6 mile loop. Besides the famous tree, it has something else that you don’t often see in Florida. It has hills. Some of the hills are very steep and will give you quite a workout. There are gorgeous views of the Apalachicola River from the top of some of the bluffs. It is one of our favorite hikes in the area. It is hard to beat six miles of hiking in the woods. We had a great time! As we followed the Torreya Trail, there was something that was impossible to miss. Everywhere we looked, Hurricane Michael’s destructive power was on full display. Hurricane Michael roared through the area in October of 2018.   The park was closed for a long time. I a...
Read more

Just a Little Catfish Fin

It was the summer between first grade and second grade. I spent most of my time back in those summer days with my buddies at the creek near my house. We spent our time catching crawfish on most hot summer days. On that day, one of my buddies found a dead catfish. We thought it would be useful to lure crawdads from their holes. There was a neighborhood girl with us that day which was highly unusual. We waded down the creek in a single file line. The girl was in the back of the line, and she kept splashing as she walked. My buddy in the front of the line kept telling her to stop. She didn’t stop. He finally got so mad that he turned and threw that dead catfish at her. I happened to be standing between them. As the catfish sailed by me, its fin hit me right in the kneecap. It stuck me hard and broke off in my knee. I ended up going to the doctor for 2 weeks as they tried to get that fin out of my knee. They gave me shots in the knee every time I went there. I kept getting sicker and sick...
Read more

Working Out

My son has been encouraging me for several years to add some strength training to my workouts. I finally gave in and asked him to write me a plan. The one he gave me is really a simple plan. I only have a few barbells and not much weight with which to work. I think that most middle school boys could do it without a problem. The plan calls for me to do the workouts 2 times a week with only 2 sets in each workout. Easy. No problem. I used to play football. I used to lift weights. I am a man. I am strong. So about 8 weeks ago, I went to the garage to roll on through this little workout. The first thing on the list was a set of pushups. I got down on the floor to begin. I immediately noticed that something was different. It was a struggle to do what I used to do easily. That ended up being true for the whole workout. It was painful. It was depressing to realize that I am not as strong as I used to be. And then came the day after the workout. I felt like I had been hit by a truck. Every par...
Read more