celebrated. Meanwhile, the older son stayed in the yard, unhappy and unfed.


Are you waiting in the yard? Perhaps you have walked across the yard, climbed the steps, and are standing at the front door of the Father’s house—listening to the music, smelling the aroma. You are hungry to know God, but you haven’t committed yet to come inside to feast at His table. You want to join the celebration, but are hesitant.


WAITING IN THE YARD


by KAREN THOMPSON


Sometimes they would play down the street at another house, but usually they would congregate at the end of the cul- de-sac beside our house to play ball. When it was supper time, I would open the front door and call their names or wave for them to come in. If they were down the road, a phone call to a neigh- borhood mom would usually suffice. Depending on the evening’s menu and the degree of stomach growling, my boys would usually race to get inside. They didn’t just stand around and wait in the yard. I loved them bunches, but I was not going to bring the meal outside to them. They could not stand in the yard and be fed. In Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, the father prepared a feast for his return- ing son, who came in to partake of it. But his older brother responded differently.


O


The older son had been out in the field. But when he came near the house, he heard the music and danc- ing. So he called one of the servants over and asked, “What’s going on here?” The servant answered, “Your brother has come home safe and


26 EVANGEL • SEP 2010


N WARM SUMMER evenings years ago, my sweet boys loved playing outside with friends in the neighborhood.


sound, and your father ordered us to kill the best calf.” The older brother got so angry that he would not even go into the house (Luke 15:25-28 CEV).


The younger son went into the house, was fed sumptuously, and his return was


The last part of verse 28 reads, “His father came out and begged him [the older son] to go in” (CEV).


Father God is pleading with individuals who are standing outside His kingdom to open the door and come in to be filled with His abundant love and joy. Are you waiting in the yard? If so, what are you waiting for? It is time to come inside.


Karen Thompson lives in Adairsville, Georgia.


THE KEYS TO ETERNAL LIFE


CHRIST PAID for our salvation with His death on the cross, but for us to accept this gift is as simple as using these keys to unlock the door:


Acknowledge you have sinned


“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).* “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).


Believe in Jesus


“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that who- ever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).


Confess and renounce your sin


“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).


*Scriptures are from the New International Version.


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