Have you ever been homesick? This is best described as a time when you were away from the
comfort and secure of what you know and love. During the months when a child goes to summer camp, ask them what it means to be homesick. In the lonely winter months before his Thanksgiving break, a college freshman might be feeling a bit homesick. Even that dream vacation can be tiresome after too many days away. Why? Maybe it’s the fact we miss the comfort of our own bed. Or maybe it’s the home cooked meal that we’re missing. Perhaps we just miss sitting together as a family and talking (do families still sit together and talk?) To be sure we all have experienced a time when we were ‘sick of being away from home’. At one time or another each of us have been homesick.
But ask yourself, ‘Am I really homesick?’ Do you long to be home or have you been away so long that you’ve grown comfortable with where you are and don’t think much about your home? I’m reminded of a young man who was tried of the family and decided to pack his bags and leave home. He enjoyed his vacation and even when he lost his new found friends, he still refused to go home. He was alone, lost all the comforts and security he once knew, but he wasn’t ready to ‘go home.’ His ‘vacation’ turned to misery and the comforts of home were just a memory…but notice this, he remembered where home was. Luke 15:11-32 details this young man and his return home. We often refer to this story as “The Prodigal Son”. He finally got the point he wanted to go home. And you know who was waiting and watching for his return…
This Biblical account reminds me of the old invitation song, “God is Call the Prodigal”. It’s a song that calls the listener to come back to God. One who has left what he knew and “…wandered so far from His presence,”. We know what it means to the parent whose child has ‘forgotten’ his/her way home, but do we realize the application for ourselves? Are we really weary of this world and longing to be ‘home’? Look again at these verses from this old spiritual song…
“God is calling the prodigal; come without delay; Hear, O hear Him calling, calling now for thee. Tho’ you’ve wandered so far from His presence, come today; Hear His loving voice calling still…”
“Patient, loving, and tenderly still the Father pleads; Hear, O hear Him calling, calling now for thee. O return while the Spirit in mercy intercedes; Hear His loving voice calling still…”
“Come, there’s bread in the house of the Father, and to spare; Hear, O hear Him calling, calling now for thee. Lo! The table is spread and the feast is waiting there; Hear His loving voice calling still…Calling now for thee, O weary prodigal come.”
It’s true that each of us at some time or another have been homesick and wished we could go home. But unfortunately many, unlike the prodigal son, are simply refusing to go home. Sitting in the darkness of the world, refusing to admit that life isn’t what they want it to be, too many have decided that they’re not homesick enough to go home. My prayer is that we will never become comfortable living in this foreign land. You might be feeling homesick, but the prodigal son had determined that he was weary. You might be homesick but you won’t go home…until you’ve grown weary of this world.