Where Does Your AHA End?

This entire series, we have been looking at a parable that Jesus taught. It is often called, "The Parable of the Prodigal Son," but that's really a misnomer. The story is about a father and his two sons.

Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. (Luke 15:11-13 NIV)

The father in the story is clearly a representation of God. Throughout this story, we have been learning what it means to have an "AHA" experience. An AHA experience always starts in a "distant country," where the son left the house and the Father. We do the same thing when we sin. Sin is rebellion against God. When we sin, we set ourselves up as God's enemies. So, in the distant country we go.

After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. (Luke 15:14-16 NIV)

AHA begins with an Awakening. Like an alarm clock waking us up from a sleep, God sounds the alarm to wake us up from our spiritual sleep. It took the younger son till the point that he was slopping food for pigs before he woke up. Nevertheless, he did wake up.

"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! (Luke 15:17 NIV)

Once he woke up, the younger son didn't sugar coat his situation. He was hungry. He was broke. He had no way out of his self-inflicted situation, so he decided to try the one thing that might help. He decided to go home.

I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.' So he got up and went to his father. (Luke 15:18-20a NIV)

Not only did he wake up, but he was honest about his circumstances. But he didn't stop there. He decided to get up and go home and then he did get up and go home. He completed his AHA experience by living out his conviction with immediate action.

So, how about you? Where does your AHA experience lead? Do you stop at the sudden awakening but never admit to the reality of your situation? Maybe you go on to the second step and admit the reason you are where you are. Are you brutally honest? Perhaps you go all the way to the end and take action to come home to the Father. Does your AHA experience lead you to walk together with God?