“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.” – Winston Churchill

Prodigo was sitting on the lower portion of a hill on the flat grassy area under the shade of small tree eager to hear what this new charismatic teacher had to say. The crowd around him had more than doubled since he first sat down. Many thoughts were circling round and round in his head but one thought kept coming to the surface and lingering much longer than any of the others. “Why am I so unhappy?”

At thirty-five Prodigo was a hard worker and never lacked for a job. He got along well with his boss and co-workers had plenty of good friends outside of work and even had a solid relationship with his in-laws. But for all that appeared right with his life for some unknown reason he was terribly dissatisfied.

He’d met his wife at a music concert when he was twenty-two. It didn’t take either of them long to fall in love, get married and have children. Now he was asking himself way too often, “Did I really love her when we got married or did I just do it because that is what a guy and girl do when they seem to like each other?”

Prodigo had an average home, three kids, a family car, an ok job, and an almost impossible time trying to build a savings account. Life seemed to somehow always cost more than his boss was willing to pay.

His wife didn’t respond to him much anymore. He considered talking to her about it but every time the subject of their relationship came up he just didn’t know how to get to the heart of the matter. His wife was a lot better at discussing issues than he was but she seemed distant and not terribly interested in dealing with their relationship.  

Prodigo was depressed these days much more frequently than he was happy. This appeared to be the way every married couple he knew felt so why should his marriage be any different? Happiness must be greatly overrated. Something to be wished for but never truly attained. He remembered his grandmother always saying that, “Weeping may last the night, but joy will come in the morning.” He was still waiting for his grandmother’s sunrise.

The noise from the crowd around him suddenly started to quiet down. He could see someone moving toward the hill and walking up it about fifty feet. From that vantage point this person sat down assuming a position that defined the word comfortable and while slowly gazing over the crowd his eyes gradually seemed to focus on Prodigo. With a strong, confident voice this teacher began to speak as if he were talking only to him.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:3-12)

For a moment Prodigo thought this man must have been able to read his mind. He had told no one of these questions that continually rumbled around in his thoughts nor had he told anyone about his depression. But his life seemed to be the focus of everything this teacher had to say.

The way he spoke captivated Prodigo. This teacher possessed an unusual amount of confidence and authority on every subject he addressed. But not the type of authority that came from being highly educated on a certain subject. This man’s authority originated from within himself in such a way that no one in the crowd questioned his words. Everyone just naturally seemed to agree with him even though they had never heard anything like this before. Prodigo’s curiosity was certainly piqued, but was it enough to compel him to want to hear more from this teacher? He knew he needed something different, some sort of change in his life. Was the change this teacher offered what he really needed?

 

Let’s bring Prodigo into the twenty-first century for his story is one that is repeated thousands of times each day. And it is as true of women as it is of men. There is no age limit, race, social or economic position or political ideology behind these feelings and thoughts. It is a story as common to life as taxes are but this story is much more insidious because it is so secretive. It lurks quietly inside us humans sending us desperately seeking after ways to become happier and more fulfilled.

Unfortunately Prodigo has no idea what is behind his desires for something more or his feelings of discontentment and depression. Even worse though he has no idea how to even address them. Prodigo has thought about the usual way people deal with their problems such as; divorce, changing jobs, buying a newer car, purchasing a bigger and better house, losing weight, having an affair, or self-medicating with drugs or alcohol. So far he hasn’t taken that first bold step. He knows in his heart that seldom is the grass greener on the other side of the fence but he is ready to try something, anything, because he’s painfully aware of the need for a change in his life.

Prodigo is no different than the majority of us humans. We all have a very real problem and the sooner we admit this the sooner we can get to the actual remedy. Most of the time we only see our problems as external such as our job, our economic status, our spouse, the place we live, our lack of education or numerous other issues outside of ourselves. If these were the source of our problems then a new color of grass just might fix them. The truth is our main problem lies deep within our soul. It is who we are and that is a much greater issue to fix than taking on even the worst of our circumstances. This problem of who we are is as old as humanity itself for it began way back in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.

A little over two thousand years ago the remedy for mankind’s problem sat on a hill and did just what the teacher in Prodigo’s story did; He laid out the complete remedy to all humanity’s problems. He not only taught about our problems and the solutions to them but He did something no one before Him or after him has ever done; He explained exactly who we humans are supposed to be.

If you have not already figured out who this teacher is, it is Jesus. The message He gave is usually referred to as the “Sermon on the Mount.” The Bible calls what Jesus taught on that hill in Galilee the good news of the kingdom and when asked by those who heard His message to stay with them and continue teaching Jesus said He could not because He was sent to proclaim and preach the gospel of the kingdom to many other cities as well.

“When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. But He said to them, ‘I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.’” (Luke 4:42, 43)

If Jesus said the reason He was sent to earth was to go from city to city preaching the gospel of the kingdom, it would make this message the most important truth ever spoken. To add even more importance to this message (as if it needs any more) Jesus said the gospel of the kingdom is the message the entire world needs to hear. He even sent His followers into the world to tell everyone everywhere the same thing He taught while sitting on that hill in Galilee.  

“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

Before we move on from here I want to make something perfectly clear. The message Jesus calls the gospel of the kingdom is not like the gospel you may have heard sometime in your life. As we examine how Jesus says we should respond to the gospel of the kingdom that He taught everywhere He went the difference will become obvious. So let’s begin to dig into the greatest message ever spoken and learn what Jesus said is the remedy to change us into the people we are supposed to be. Along the way maybe Prodigo will understand what Jesus said and find the peace that has eluded him so far in his life.

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