“After the son squandered all his possessions in reckless living, a severe famine arose in that country and he was in need..” - Luke 15:13-14
I find this a fascinating parallel of our own lives when it says the severe famine came after he spent everything. The sinful lifestyle he created from his own resources satisfied him for some time but eventually he found himself achingly famished because he came to the end of his own means.
Yet he still seeks in his own strength food to fill his ache - so in desperation he desired the “the pig food” to fill his hunger. When we are truly starving we somehow become willing to try things we never thought possible. This is a picture of what happens to us spiritually and emotionally.
When we run down sin trails long enough, everything looks cloudy and strangely appealing. Our attempts to satisfy our hunger pains become increasingly thwarted. The son trades one empty meal for another (sadly thinking the next one will satisfy only to find it won’t) until he is aware that he is physically and emotionally dying.
Finally the story says he came to his senses and knew where he could get the real feast - His Father’s house. He knew he could feast on the real meat that would satisfy beyond ache - the real protein that would fill the deepest most empty cracks of his soul... and the best part is - when he came home, the Father was more than prepared to provide that for him. And his soul was filled beyond ache.
-Natalie Goens
