“He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.’” Luke 15:17-18

 

He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

We might think that odd, but isn’t that exactly what sin does to us? We have this warped desire for sin to somehow fill our deepest desires like that young man longed for those pig pods to fill his belly. But it won’t work. It never does. Sin only leaves us more empty, miserable, and unfulfilled. Sin can even make us sick. Like the prodigal son, we can so easily get stuck in our sin, like a pig stuck in mud.

Don’t we all feel that pull though, that longing to try to fill our hearts with the pods that the world offers. It can be such a struggle. Sin doesn’t always look a pigsty at first. It can look very beautiful on the outside. Satan has a knack for making a pigsty look like a palace. He’s gifted in facades. He flaunts his temptations in front of us. They invite us. Tempt us. Lure us. They draw us in. But after we give in and the damage is done, we find ourselves trapped in muddy pig pen. He doesn’t want us to see that side of sin until it’s too late. Until we are already deep in sin’s clutches.

When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!’

Notice that when he finally came to his senses, he began to think about his father. He knew his father treated his servants better than the way he was being treated.

If we truly want to be set free from our sin, we must change our focus. We have to stop looking down and start looking up. The answer to getting out of the pigsty of sin starts in our minds-in our thinking. We must take our focus off our sin and focus on our Heavenly Father.

Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.  Colossians 3:2 

I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

The lost son decided to get up out of the piggy pit and go back to his father. He confessed and repented of his sin. We too must get up and walk away from our sin.We must walk away from sin and walk toward God. We cannot have both. We have to make a choice. It’s one or the other.  

The last step to freedom from sin is confession. “Lord, I messed up. I blew it. I sinned against heaven and You,  and I am so sorry. Please forgive me.”

And that’s when grace flows!

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.  Luke 15:20

He’s a good good Father! He’s always watching and waiting. With arms open wide, He longs for us to leave the pigsty and run home to Him.

Pastor Robby shared this quote in a sermon several weeks ago:

“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  John 10:10