Could It Be?
By Christy Lowman
Burke County
Could it be? Could it be? After seven long months has Chip and Dell’s long-lost brother finally returned? He was eight weeks old the last time we saw him.
There is a black and gray striped cat with spots, about the same size, just a tad smaller than Chip and Dell that has appeared at my neighbors.
I meowed and he came out from underneath the truck meowing back. He walked up to me, pretty close, then got spooked and ran back under the truck just like he did when he was a kitten. We have not seen him since the day we caught Chip when Chip had to go to the vet to have a bot fly larvae removed from under his skin. I have always wondered and fretted over what had happened to their little brother. Seeing him, yes we are 99 percent sure it is him, once again reminded me of the story Jesus told about the prodigal son. If you have never heard of this story you can find it in your Bible in the book of Luke 15:11-32.
The short version of the story is basically this: A man had 2 sons. The younger son decided he didn’t want to wait until his father died to get his inheritance so he asked him for it while he was still alive. His father agreed and gave it to him. The son left home, had his fortune turned into money, and went to a foreign country. He blew all of his inheritance partying and hanging out with friends. When he had no more money left his friends abandoned him. At the same time, the country went through a severe famine. He became a citizen of a foreign country and his job was to feed and tend the pigs. He wanted to go home but was afraid of being turned away. He decided to take the chance anyway and see if he could be a servant of his fathers because he would be taken care of as a servant better than how he was being taken care of here. He went home. When his father saw him he was excited and welcomed his son home with open arms. He had his servant drape his son in the finest robe and put a ring on his finger. They also celebrated with a fine meal.
When the older brother came home from working the fields and found out his brother was back. He was not happy to see him. He did not think his brother deserved a welcome home party and he would not go in the house and participate. He did not understand why his father was so willing to welcome his brother back and forget all that he had done. The older brother was a little jealous that the father was having this big party for his brother when he had never offered even a small party for him and his friends and he had stayed with his father his whole life and worked his fields for him. The father told him to be glad that his younger brother who had been lost was now found and that all he had was going to belong to him when he died not his younger brother.
I wonder how Chip and Dell would react once they saw their long-lost brother after all of this time. Would they be happy to see him? Would they resent him? Would they even recognize him? I would like to think they would embrace him and love him and welcome him back home. That is how I hope I would act if I was in this situation. I hope and pray I would react like the father with open arms and not like the older brother who wasn’t happy to see his younger brother come back home.
The father displayed the love that Christ gives us. When we walk away from God he always welcomes us back with open arms, no matter what.
How do you think you would react in a similar situation?
John 6:37, NIV “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”
Dear Lord, we praise You and thank You so much for never giving up on us. Thank You for allowing us to return to You no matter what we have done or how far we have gone. Dear Lord, please help us not to stumble, help us to only make minimum mistakes in life. I pray we will draw near to you and stay close to You, allowing You to direct our path. In Jesus’s name, I pray, Amen.
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Christy Lowman is a Christian author and illustrator that lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with her husband and two children. She enjoys writing and illustrating books for all ages. Some of her short stories are published with Guideposts and HCI. Christy gives all the glory to God in everything she does. A portion of every book sold from the Small Bible Character Series will be donated to battle human trafficking. If you enjoy her books, “like’ her author page on Facebook and let her know! You can buy her books at //www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AChristy+Lowman&s=relevancerank&text=Christy+Lowman&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1. You can reach her at //www.facebook.com/authorChristyLowman/
or christyssoaps@yahoo.com
You can read more Christian news from Christy here.
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