October 19

The Far Country

When he came to himself, he said... I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned... — Luke 15:17-19

We need not travel far to reach the far country—the thought of sin, the wings of passionate evil desire, the lightning flash of a look, may land us as far from God as the east is from the west. The essence of the far country is selfishness. Notice the stress of the prodigal’s emphasis upon himself—“give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.’” It is not wrong to make use of and enjoy all the good and perfect gifts with which God strews our life, so long as they are held in thankful recognition of and fellowship with Himself. But when we depart from God, there is waste, for we lack the one object which gathers up all our activities for a worthy focus; riot, because in the absence of God there is no sufficient corrective or antidote for strong and masterful passion; want, because the soul was made for God, and can never be satisfied till it rests in Him.

How foolish it is for a man to disjoin himself from God, and to join himself to a citizen in the land of forgetfulness! The citizens of this world have nothing to give to the starving soul of man, save to send it forth to feed the swine, which stand for the lower desires of our nature. This is the alternative which too many wiseacres suggest: “See life, take your fill of pleasure; fill the passing hours with revelry, amusement, dissipation.” But the hunger of the soul cannot be appeased thus. Though husks are good for swine, they wilt not suffice for the sons of men. Like the wise man of old, we cry, “He hath put eternity in my heart—vanity of vanities, all is vanity!” We cannot rest in that which contents others. From the putrid swine-troughs we long for the food which the servants enjoy in our Father’s home; from the stagnant pools we thirst for the crystal water.

It is under such circumstances that we come back to ourselves—that we come back to our Father. Let us believe in the love of God our Father, which yearns after us in our absence from Him, which sees us while we are yet a great way off, and will run to welcome us, as we return, with forgiveness and restoration.

Prayer

Thou knowest, O Lord, what most I require; help me, and out of the treasury of Thy goodness, succour Thou my needy soul. Amen.