| Devotional Hours with the Bible |
Chapter 36 |
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The picture of the shepherd — seeking, finding, then bearing back on his shoulder his lost one, gives us a glimpse of the wonderful depths of love in the heart of Christ. The second parable tells of a lost coin for which the owner searches with lighted candle and broom until she finds it. A coin bears the image of the king and represents the human soul on which God’s likeness is imprinted. The third parable tells of a lost boy.
The trouble began in the boy’s discontent. His home was happy, but into this paradise sin crept. He became restless, discontented. His father’s authority irked him. He began to have dreams of freedom. He would like to be out in the world, away from all restraint. So he demanded his portion.
That is where sin begins. A man wants to have his own way without regard to the divine will. The father “divided unto them his living.” He yielded to the son’s demand for his portion. This may seem strange. Why did not the father refuse the son’s unreasonable request? God does not refuse the demands we make upon Him. The other day one telling of a life of departure from God was disposed to put the blame on God. “Why did God let me leave Him and go away from the life of obedience I was living?” But God holds no one by force in the bonds of a good life. WE belong to Him, we owe Him love, obedience, honor, service; but He will never compel us to stay with Him, or to love and obey Him. The stars are held in their courses by laws which they cannot break. Our little planet cannot get its liberty, cannot fly away from the sun’s control, however it may weary of the restraints of gravitation. But stars are things. We are moral beings, under moral law, and God never compels us to stay with Him. We can break away if we will.
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