“11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.” Luke 15:11-13
The prodigal is one who wastes his means or his person by indulgences. The Believer who turns his heart away from the Father and unto the Father’s goods has succumbed to greed. Too often their consecration morphs into ambition and their faith turns to greed. Once given the goods, they too often end up dining with the swine.
“14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.” Luke 15:14-16
Why does the prodigal end up dining with the swine? Because his heart had turned from Jesus, Who HE is and what HE has done for whosoever will believe, and to the promises afforded the Believer by Jesus. If not for dining with the swine, the prodigal may not have realized his condition; he may not have realized how far he had strayed from his father. Dining with the swine was merely a symptom. It was the change in his heart; the turning from his father and to his father’s goods that led to the diagnosis of heart failure.
Was he Saved? When his heart turned away from his father, was he Saved? He did not renounce his father as his father, he just no longer wanted to fellowship with his father. If such is so, did he really love his father to begin with?
If he had died in the pig pen, would he have made Heaven his home?
Then there is King David.
“And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.” 1 Samuel 27:1
King David went and lived among the enemy out of fear of Saul yet the Lord says of him that David was a man after his own heart. David’s heart was perfect toward the Lord even as he was oppressed by fear.
Was he Saved during his time with the Philistines? Absolutely. Was the prodigal son Saved as he backslid into the pig pen? Personally, I believe so. If he had died on the way to the pig pen, yes, I believe he would have made Heaven his home. If while in the pig pen, he had renounced his father and chose to stay in his pen of pigs due to his foolish pride, then no – I don’t believe he would have made Heaven.
Humility was and is the symptom of a heart that is tender toward the Lord. For some of us, it takes some time with the pigs and for others, even though far from perfect, our hearts are humbled by the Lord. No matter the case, the Lord seeks for our hearts to be tender toward Him and to know that He has our best in mind. Those promises are yes and amen; He WILL turn all things to good for those who love Him but it is always according to HIS Purpose and HIS Will…not ours. Trust Him. Lean not unto your own understanding. Don’t dine with the swine. Jesus didn’t Redeem you to leave you. He has made a way. Consider the condition of your heart. Recognize how you receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. If it is foolishness, you’re in heart failure.
Be determined to know nothing else among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
-Donna Clark Warren
Living in The Spirit 