Day 14

“At its heart, the modern world is a decisive challenge to the authority of God . . . because our entire culture, Christians included, so relies on the gifts of the modern world that we have ‘no need of God’ in practice.” – Oz Guinness

We are deceived by the comforts that surround us. We are warm and dry in our homes; clean water flows freely from the faucet; and thousands of neatly kept rows of food in the supermarket down the street await our shopping cart. Even the term supermarket shouts our gluttonous consumption to the poor around us. We are deceived because we do not have the eyes to see the work of God in our midst nor the ears to hear His still small voice. We have no need of God because we already have everything we need.

Yet, God loves us none-the-less. When we leave home in search of the next level of success and fulfillment, we are really looking for acceptance and love. But we search were love cannot be found. According to Nouwen, the world says, “Yes, I love you if you are good-looking, intelligent and wealthy. I love you if you have a good education, a good job, and good connections. I love you if you produce much, sell much, and buy much. There are endless ‘ifs’ hidden in the world’s love. These ‘ifs’ enslave [us] . . . The world’s love is always conditional.”

So just as the prodigal son left home, we put on our finest clothes and drive away in our fancy cars to a distant land in a rebellious search for something that ironically is only found at home in the Father’s embrace. The great mystery is that the Father is always waiting with outstretched arms for our return.