In Luke fifteen, Jesus tells a story of a loving father and his two sons. It is traditionally called, "The Prodigal Son." In verse thirty-one there is an interesting verse. The older son who did not disrespect his father by squandering his inheritance is angry at the party that is being thrown for the unwise, sinful son. The father responds to the elder son by saying, "My son...you are always with me and everything I have is yours."
There are some followers of Jesus in this world who have passionately followed Christ for all of the life they can remember. They have no testimony of being away from God. I am not saying they have been perfect, no one is. But, for those of you who have always loved the Lord and that love has translated into a life of clean, pure, and holy obedience to Christ, these words are for you.
There are two great comments from the heavenly Father to you. First, he has noticed that you are always with him. The greatest blessing is not being noticed, but knowing that the Father has always been with us. There is something to be said about the peace and joy of a life that has always had the Father's presence.
Second, the father wants you to be reminded, that all he has is yours. The longer we serve the Lord, the more constant his fulfillment of promises seems to be. You have the blessing of enjoying your roots without any regret. God forgives every sinner, but some sins create huge amounts of regret, and you don't have those regrets to overcome. What a blessing!
If you have a testimony of never straying from the Lord, I encourage you to humbly cherish it today. Think about the richness of that testimony. If you are new to following Jesus Christ, stick with it! One day, you will feel and see the power of a consistent walk with him. You too will one day feel the strength, power and peace of the words of the Father, "My son...you are always with me and everything I have is yours."
