WHAT A GENEROSITY!

**fennywest** Wed 14 Jul 2010, 9:16 am

(Prodigal son narrative (Bible story poetry)

Since my Father was taking too long to die
I wanted my share of the wealth immediately
This so broke his heart, that He wanted to cry
But I was unmoved, adamant in my infamy

Reluctantly he gave me my share and I left
Declaring my independence, embracing wild living
Out in a foreign land I boozed, dined till nothing left
All my fair-weather friends-leeches- fleeing, absconding
I was reduced from the soul and heart of posh parties
To a wretched, helpless, downcast, beggarly, lonely fool
Shattered, ashamed, surprised, I came to my senses
Realised I had made myself a bed of thorns, used as a tool.

I sought employment to make a few bob to make ends meet
But all I got was to attend to pigs, of all things in the world
I was so hungry that I thought the husk they ate was sweet
Now lusting for their food, I knew I was becoming weird.

'Who will deliver me from this woe I have put myself?
Is this the same man that was waited upon hand and foot?'
It was difficult to believe, let alone forgive myself.
Then I thought, ‘I must arise and go back to my roots.’

‘I have sinned against my father and against heaven
I would rather be one of His hired servants than die here.’
So I started my long journey home, tired weary, worn
Daddy waited longing daily, saying, ‘I wish he was
here.’

As I turned the corner and in the home straight
Guess who I saw that came running to greet?
Yes, it was Daddy, you guessed right,
He threw His arms around me, kissed me, to greet.

‘This son was dead, but now he’s alive he declared
Let us celebrate, give thanks, let the music play
Kill the fatted calf for him,‘ was the next I heard
What a generosity! Such forgiveness! What can I say?

¹¹And He said, There was a certain man who had two sons;

¹²And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the part of the property that falls [to me]. And he divided the estate between them.^(A)

¹³And not many days after that, the younger son gathered up all that he had and journeyed into a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and loose [from restraint] living.

¹⁴And when he had spent all he had, a ^[a]mighty famine came upon that country, and he began to fall behind and be in want.

¹⁵So he went and forced (glued) himself upon one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed hogs.

¹⁶And he would gladly have fed on and ^[b]filled his belly with the ^[c]carob pods that the hogs were eating, but [they could not satisfy his hunger and] nobody gave him anything [better].^(B)

¹⁷Then when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father have enough food, and [even food] to spare, but I am perishing (dying) here of hunger!

¹⁸I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.

¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] make me like one of your hired servants.

²⁰So he got up and came to his [own] father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity and tenderness [for him]; and he ran and embraced him and kissed him [^[d]fervently].

²¹And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son [I no longer deserve to be recognized as a son of yours]!

²²But the father said to his bond servants, Bring quickly the best robe (the festive robe of honor) and put it on him; and give him a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet.^(C)

²³And bring out ^[e]that [wheat-]fattened calf and kill it; and let us ^[f]revel and feast and be happy and make merry,

²⁴Because this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! And they began to ^[g]revel and feast and make merry.

Lessons

1. Waiting is a virtue that has weight.

2. Patience pays fine. The patient dog eats the fattest bone.

3. Acquiring wealth that you did not work for blinds and binds.

4. Impatience is bait that lures to penury, ruin and slavery.

5. Fair-weather friends fly away when the dough is gone.

6. Poverty will teach you a lesson that richness will not teach you.

7. From time to time we think we know more than God.

8. When we think we know more than God we are actually being foolish.

9. Desiring independence from God is embracing slavery, death, destruction and damnation.

10. We do not know our friends when we are rich but when we are poor.

11. The rich man has many false friends.

12. We all miss it from time to time but we can still come back if we realise we missed the mark and repent.

13. God will abundantly pardon if we repent and forsake.

14. There is a great joy in heaven when we come back home from the house of bondage.

Prayer

Lord help me to wait for your time. For in your time you make everything beautiful. Those that wait on you shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as the eagles they shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not become tire or faith. Teach me, Lord to wait.

And when I blow it, Lord, teach me to humble myself and repent and receive forgiveness and forgive myself, realising that you are a forgiving God. You are the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering (extra-ordinarily patient) and abundant in goodness and in truth. Your anger lasts for a moment but your mercies (favour) endure for ever and ever.