The turning point

‘And he arose, and came to his father.’ Luke 15:20
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Matthew 21:28–32

The prodigal pressed beyond mere resolving. That is a sweet verse which says, ‘I will arise’, but that is far better which says, ‘And he arose’. Resolves are good, like blossoms, but actions are better, for they are the fruits. We are glad to hear from you the resolution, ‘I will turn to God,’ but holy angels in heaven do not rejoice over resolutions; they reserve their music for sinners who actually repent. Many of you, like the son in the parable, have said, ‘I go, sir’, but you have not gone. You are as ready at forgetting as you are at resolving. Every earnest sermon, every death in your family, every funeral knell for a neighbour, every pricking of conscience, and every touch of sickness sets you resolving to amend, but your promissory notes are never honoured; your repentance ends in words. Your goodness is as the dew, which at early dawn hangs each blade of grass with gems, but leaves the fields all parched and dry when the sun’s burning heat is poured upon the pasture.

You mock your friends and trifle with your own souls. You have often said, ‘Let me reach my chamber and I will fall upon my knees,’ but on the way home you have forgotten what manner of men you were and sin has confirmed its tottering throne. Have you not dallied long enough? Have you not lied unto God sufficiently? Should you not now give up resolving and proceed to the solemn business of your souls like men of common sense? You are in a sinking vessel and the lifeboat is near, but your mere resolve to enter it will not prevent you going down with the sinking craft; as sure as you are a living man, you will drown unless you take the actual leap for life. ‘He arose, and came to his father.’

FOR MEDITATION: Matthew ‘arose and followed’ Jesus as soon as he was told to (Matthew 9:9). Contrast his obedient action with the futile and unfulfilled resolutions of Felix over a two-year period (Acts 24:24–27). Which of the two did the will of God (Matthew 21:31)? And which of the two are you like?


C. H. Spurgeon and Terence Peter Crosby, 365 Days with Spurgeon (Volume 4), (Leominster, UK: Day One Publications, 2007), 246.
The turning point ‘And he arose, and came to his father.’ Luke 15:20 SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Matthew 21:28–32 The prodigal pressed beyond mere resolving. That is a sweet verse which says, ‘I will arise’, but that is far better which says, ‘And he arose’. Resolves are good, like blossoms, but actions are better, for they are the fruits. We are glad to hear from you the resolution, ‘I will turn to God,’ but holy angels in heaven do not rejoice over resolutions; they reserve their music for sinners who actually repent. Many of you, like the son in the parable, have said, ‘I go, sir’, but you have not gone. You are as ready at forgetting as you are at resolving. Every earnest sermon, every death in your family, every funeral knell for a neighbour, every pricking of conscience, and every touch of sickness sets you resolving to amend, but your promissory notes are never honoured; your repentance ends in words. Your goodness is as the dew, which at early dawn hangs each blade of grass with gems, but leaves the fields all parched and dry when the sun’s burning heat is poured upon the pasture. You mock your friends and trifle with your own souls. You have often said, ‘Let me reach my chamber and I will fall upon my knees,’ but on the way home you have forgotten what manner of men you were and sin has confirmed its tottering throne. Have you not dallied long enough? Have you not lied unto God sufficiently? Should you not now give up resolving and proceed to the solemn business of your souls like men of common sense? You are in a sinking vessel and the lifeboat is near, but your mere resolve to enter it will not prevent you going down with the sinking craft; as sure as you are a living man, you will drown unless you take the actual leap for life. ‘He arose, and came to his father.’ FOR MEDITATION: Matthew ‘arose and followed’ Jesus as soon as he was told to (Matthew 9:9). Contrast his obedient action with the futile and unfulfilled resolutions of Felix over a two-year period (Acts 24:24–27). Which of the two did the will of God (Matthew 21:31)? And which of the two are you like? C. H. Spurgeon and Terence Peter Crosby, 365 Days with Spurgeon (Volume 4), (Leominster, UK: Day One Publications, 2007), 246.
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