So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. – Luke 15:15-16
If the Pharisees listening to Jesus’ parable up to this point hadn’t yet lost their minds, this part had every reason to make them all faint and lose consciousness. The Law clearly states, in both Leviticus and Deuteronomy, that pigs are unclean animals. Absolutely forbidden! A Jew working for a pig farmer? Feeding pigs? And then to admit envying these nasty things?!
What began as a selfish and misguided quest for freedom has landed him in a pigpen in a distant land. Prison would’ve been an upgrade! But the truth is that the younger son was destined for this reality from the beginning. Bad decisions are a lot like lies – one often leads to a series of others.
That’s the thing about sin. It always overpromises and underdelivers.
But here’s the thing about rock bottoms: they can make great foundations. Or, we can keep chiseling and digging, like some of us do.
So many times in my active alcoholism, I remember saying to myself, “You know, today can be the last worst day of your life – if you truly want it to be. All you gotta do is lay down the shovel.” But that shovel wasn’t easy for me to put down. Every time I tried, I’d pick it back up and keep right on digging. And the deeper I dug, the darker it got.
So I know a little bit about “distant-country living.” I lived abroad in my sinful lifestyle for many years. Tired, isolated, lonely… just me and my bottle shovel. I absolutely hated myself. And for good reason! There wasn’t much about me to love. And yet, while I was still a sinner… (Romans 5:8)
But at some point, the pain of holding my shovel became greater than my fear of changing. Desperation can do that; it can be one of God’s greatest gifts to us. It teaches us how to lay down our shovels for good and surrender, leading us to the place where we….
…come to our senses.
Former Blackout Artist 