To All Those Who Wander...

A popularized statement I'm sure you've heard or seen is "not all those who wander are lost." When I look at this statement with a spiritual lens, it resonates with me. It reminds me of so many people I've known throughout my life who know God that have wandered away.

Away from what? Well to put it succinctly, their relationship with Jesus. So many people who know God and have experienced the goodness of God have seemingly wandered away from Him. They aren't lost to eternity because they truly belong to God but are lost on a path far from God's purpose and plan.

How they got lost and so far from God is a unique journey to themselves but they probably share common ground with others who wander. Maybe they stopped spending time with God, praying, reading His word, and going to a church where God's word is faithfully taught. For some, it could be tiny compromises repeated often that became great compromises and before they knew it they didn't recognize the person they had become. For others, perhaps a great time of difficulty like a treacherous storm blew them off course and shipwrecked their faith. Still more have felt the terrible sting like they have been stabbed in the back by the very people that call themselves Christians. Unfortunately, one could fill volumes of books with the ways and reasons a child of God can find themselves wandering far from God and His unconditional love.

If that's you friend, if you belong to God but you know you have wandered from Him..there is a way back. There is a way back home. Remember how much God loves you and wants to bless you. Yes, He will more than likely allow us to experience the consequences of our decisions but there is no screw-up, no sin so great, that God can't forgive. He can heal you emotionally. He can bear all the burdens you carry. He can restore the years that have been stolen and squandered by foolishness and folly.

Remember the story in the bible of the prodigal son? He wanted his inheritance early so he could indulge in anything and everything that he thought would bring him satisfaction, pleasure, and purpose. In the end, he found himself eating the food that was fed to pigs to survive. He was bankrupted financially and spiritually. Then at the end of his rope, he remembered his father, the one he disgraced with his stupidity and arrogance. He recalled that even his father's servants ate better than he was currently. He thought to himself, that maybe his father would have mercy on him if he went home and at the very least give him some better food to survive.

Some important insights to note about the prodigal. No matter what decisions he made he never stopped being his father's son, he was willing to lay down his pride to make his next right decision, and he always knew the road home. He just didn't know what he would experience when he went home. How would his father react?

"And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants,‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.  And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. "

Luke 15:20-24

Do you know friend that no matter what you've done as a child of God you have never stopped being your Heavenly Father's child? What's it going to take for you to realize it's time to head home? There's a road home. Come home to Jesus, just like you are, broken, hurt, angry, confused, frustrated, however you find yourself.

If you can hear, however faint that voice within you, the one you have ignored for so long calling you home. It's the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me..." John 10:27. Come home to Jesus! He's been looking for you, waiting for you to return, and His arms like the father of the prodigal son are open wide! For all those who wander, follow His voice home.