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A Modern Day Prodigal

L. E. Lee

The unexpected call comes about 8:00 p.m. He sounds happy, proud, content, relaxed, yet excited all at once. He tells of his day in basic training. He tells us how his company scored highest on the obstacle course competition, and that phone privileges are the reward for their accomplishment. He tells us of his experience in the gas chamber, and what his drill sergeants are like. He tells us how grateful he is for our help.
We tried to prepare him for what to expect in basic training, being vets ourselves, but of course, itâ ™s been many years since our experience, and this is wartime as well. He tells us of how it is the same and how it is different. He tells us that they are primarily being trained to kill and to stay alive, and that he has a 99% probability of being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan after completing his training. Ah, well, we knew the odds, didnâ ™t we? He tells us of the seriousness of his training, and how several young recruits have already tried to go AWOL from fear. Others have been disciplined for infractions that would have only been minor during peacetime, but now, during this time of war, seem far more serious.
I am so proud of him for doing his duty to God and country. More so because of the known risk he is taking. He has become a man, finally. Oh, but what it cost for him to mature to this point! In spite of his upbringing in the teachings of Christ, he was expelled from school at sixteen. He joined a gang at seventeen. He risked his life with pills and alcohol. He was arrested numerous times. He lost his drivers license and tallied up fines he would never be able to pay off. Through all this we never condoned any of his actions, but neither did we stop loving and supporting him.
By the age of twenty-two he had turned from his lifestyle and once again remembered the teachings of his youth. Yet the consequences of his past did not automatically vanish with his new hard found wisdom. He came to realize how deep was the abyss he had plunged himself into and how impossible it would be for him to climb out by himself. So we reached in and pulled him out. His father invested several thousand dollars in him by paying off his fines, enabling him to enlist in the United States Army. Hearing the pride and happiness in his voice now, we knew that our investment was sound. Our son now had his wings, finally, and the motivation to turn his life around, but make no mistake; Christ was the reason that it was all possible. To Him we will always give the glory for this.
There are several lessons to be learned from this. When we give our children the foundation of Christ, we give them a means to overcome the world. Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Prov 22:6) Just as we never gave up on our son, God never gives up on us. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2:3-4) Just as we invested a small fortune in our son, God invested all in us, by giving up his most precious possession. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16) Just as our son is grateful for his new life, we should be grateful for our salvation. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs; singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Col 3:16) And finally, just as our son has committed himself to his cause, we should be committed to Christ. And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ. (2 Thess 3:5) Amen.