Harvest Daily 12/07/04

Harvest Daily Devotional
by Pastor Greg Laurie

December 7
Everything We Need

The father said to his servants, "Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." And they began to be merry.  - Luke 15:22-24

Have you ever searched something only to discover that it was there the whole time, right underneath your nose?  If so, you have a lot in common with the Prodigal Son from Jesus' parable in Luke 15.  The parable tells of a young man who left his father's house in an attempt to find fulfillment in the things he thought would make him happy.  Apparently from the young man's actions, he believed nice clothes, fine food, and big parties would bring him happiness. 

It's noteworthy that after the Prodigal Son lost all he had and returned to his father's house, he realized that everything he was looking for in life was at home.  What did the father do when the Prodigal Son returned?  He said, "Bring out the best robe . . . and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet" (Luke 15:22).  Essentially he gave his son nice clothes.  "Bring the fatted calf here," the father said (verse 23).  He gave his son fine food.  "Let us eat and be merry," he exclaimed (verse 23).  He threw his son a big party.  That's what the prodigal wanted.  Everything he desired in life was in a relationship with his father.

Christians find that to be true as well.  Everything we need in life to be happy, everything we need for true fulfillment is found in a relationship with God the Father.

Copyright (c) 2004 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.