The Prodigal...Friend

Today I was listening to Nichole Nordeman's song "Lay It Down", which is based upon the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. If you've never heard the song, you can listen to it online by clicking here....or, if that doesnt work for you, the lyrics to the song are here.

It's been some time ago, but we studied this scripture one time in class at which time I made the reference to the old Tom Bodett commercials for Motel 6...where he always said "We'll leave the light on for you" (a slogan still on the Motel 6 website today by the way). That's just the way it is with God...he will ALWAYS leave the light on for YOU.

Not sure why, but I started thinking about recent discussions we've had in class about Facebook and how since getting on FB, I've had contact with so many "long lost" friends from high school, college, and beyond that I havent heard from in years. I know we've discussed how FB can be a bad thing (if you spend too much time on there and neglect your family for instance), but I also thought about how since joining, I've:

• discussed /recommended my Church to a friend of a friend who just moved to town


• traded numerous messages with people about prayer life and God's working in our lives


• Praised God via my "status message"


• Let my Faith in God be known on "my wall"


• joined the group "bet I can find 10,000 Christians on FB"
  

See, it's much like a lot of things in our lives...it is what we make it and God can and will use it to further his Kingdom, whether we choose to be a part of it or not.

So here's my question to you...listen to "Lay It Down" (or read the lyrics). Is there a "friend" on FB that needs to hear how Jesus Christ has changed your life? Look at your "friend count" next time you login. Out of all those people, wanna bet there's at least one that feels like they're "carrying the weight of most the world" and they'd like to "come back home"? I'm not saying you have to shove it down everyone's throats, but hey...have you thought about things like:

• Set your status message to something that says "Kevin is always amazed by God" or "Kevin is praying BIG" (you might use your name instead)


• Put info in your profile that let's people know about your faith. They might ask you about it.


• You can even set your "website" in your FB profile to be the link to this blog!

Regardless, you get the idea. If you're not on FB, the analogy still works...let your faith be known to those you come in contact with every day. In even the smallest and most "normal" of situations. You never know, you might help bring a long lost prodigal friend home to our Risen Savior.

And finally, go back thru the story in Luke 15. When the prodigal son came home, the father didn't just give him a hug or shout to tell a friend...he threw an unbelievably HUGE party...because the son "who was dead is now alive". Get a sense of what's at stake? KO