Coming Back

Luke 15:11-24
11 And He said, "A man had two sons. 12 "The younger of them said to his father, `Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.' So he divided his wealth between them. 13 "And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. 14 "Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. 15 "So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 "And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. 17 "But when he came to his senses, he said, `How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! 18 `I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men."' 20 "So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 "And the son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22 "But the father said to his slaves, `Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; 23 and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.' And they began to celebrate.

Here in Texas if you mention running back Ricky Williams, folks will probably reflect back to his record breaking days in the burnt orange and white uniform of the University of Texas, but Williams, who sat out last year's NFL season is scheduled to return to the NFL's Miami Dolphins in just two weeks against the Buffalo Bills.

It's has been a fairly successful run for Williams during his four-year college career and his six years in the NFL. Legendary head football coach Mike Ditka believed so much in this 5-10, 226-pound athlete that he basically sold everything but the farm to draft him when Williams went No. 1 to the New Orleans Saints back in 1999.

William was "The Man" during his four years as a Texas Longhorn. He gained over 2,200 yards in two seasons as a fullback during his freshman and soph-omore seasons at UT. Then as a junior and senior Williams was featured as the tailback in the Longhorn offense. And he rushed for 4,000-plus yards and over 50 touchdowns in two seasons, becoming the NCAA All-Time leading rusher.

Since his NFL debut in 1999 he has rushed for over 6,300 yards and 41 touchdowns in three seasons with the Saints and two seasons with the Dolphins. But last year was a very odd year at best for this once top five running back.

Just a week before training camp started for the Miami Dolphins, Williams phoned his head coach, then Dave Wannstedt, and said that he was retiring from football. But what it boiled down to was Ricky Williams was quitting. He was tired of the game and didn't want to be in the football business any long-er.

Ricky Williams longed to be free from the burden of the National Football League. He longed to be free from all that went with being a top NFL running back. After retirement he told the Miami Herald "I'm finally free. I can't ever remember being this happy."

Ricky Williams is a lot like the prodigal son that is spoken of in Luke chapter 15. This gentleman had two sons and we get the sense that they wanted for very little in their lives. But the younger was just not a happy camper. He was an adventurous type. So he asked for his share of the inheritance that was going to be given him and off he went.

One could say Williams and the prodigal son were paddling in the same boat. Williams had hoards of money and really had want for nothing, except free-dom. And so he retired from football and freedom he got.

The circumstances behind the leaving of Williams and the prodigal son are very similar, but its not the leaving that I want us to focus on. Rather it's the coming back that I want us to see. And I want us to focus on the vast dif-ference between the return of Ricky Williams to the NFL and the return of the prodigal son to his father.

Williams' circumstances for returning to the NFL and the son's return to his father are probably as different as they can be. But it's really not even the cir-cumstances of the return that I want us to focus on. But let's see the reception of Williams' return and how that is compared to the reception the son receives from his father.

It had been rumored for quite some time that Williams was going to be return-ing to football. And of course the media had a field day with that bit of news as teammates and coaches were asked numerous times about his return and what they thought about having him back and how that would impact the team and this and that.

And opinions varied from I'll play along side him because he's a member of my team to I wouldn't play with Ricky Williams if he was the last running back left on the planet.

So not only did Williams receive a cold shoulder at best from his teammates and some of his coaches, he was actually slapped with a four-game suspen-sion from the NFL league office as their welcome back gift. And so he has not played a down so far this season and will not until the Dolphins return to action on Sunday, Oct. 11 when Miami travels to Buffalo to take on the Bills.

But that is a stark contrast to the reception the prodigal son received when he returned home. The son, after squandering all his money in a far away land and going to work for someone for next to nothing, realized that the hired men, who were working for his father had it better off than he did.

So the son says I will return to my father and tell him that I have sinned and that I will be happy just to be one of his servants, much less his son. But what does he receive upon his return but a huge party.

Not only was his dad happy to see him, but he rushed to greet him when he was still far off. The father ran to his son and embraced him and kissed him. And he told his slaves to hurry out with a robe for his body, a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet.

The father called for the fatted calf to be killed so the celebration could begin, because his son was as dead, but now he was alive, he was lost and now he had been found.

In the reality of things God should treat us like some of the teammates, coaches and NFL treated Ricky Williams when he returned. We deserve a lifetime suspension from the presence of Almighty God. And we deserve the scorn and the ridicule that could come from our sin. God could very well say you are a sinner why would I want to have you on my team.

But I find myself so thankful that we are not scorned, ridiculed or punished when we come to the Father through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Instead He says let the celebration begin, because My son, who was once dead is now alive, My sheep, who was once lost has now been found.

If you find yourself struggling through this game of life and you feel like your teammates have given up on you and your coaches would rather you not come back or if you feel the punishment that life can dish out and it's all overwhelming you. Come home. Your father is waiting for you. And He's more than waiting for you. He is seeking you out. He is trying to find you like you are the rarest talent that has even been seen in the draft pool. He wants you to be His No. 1 pick.

What would keep you from coming home today. Right now. God doesn't care where you've been or what you've done. He just wants you.

A friend of mine described repentance in a way that I have never heard it de-scribed before, but I think it is so very true. There are only two types of people in the world and both of them need to repent. One is that I am so good that I have no need for God and they need to come down off their mountain top and put God there. And then there are people that say I am so dirty God couldn't want me. And they need to realize that God wants to bring them up out of the valley of despair. He does love you. Christ died for you.

Again why don't you come back today!

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995
by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."