Return

“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.” (Joel 2:12-13)  

In the story of the prodigal son God reveals His heart for His people. Like the wayward son we are prone to wander, we are too easily lured away from the father by selfish desires. Our rebellion yield’s loss, pain and suffering and we are confronted by the consequences of our actions. Shame and guilt is upon us like a heavy weight. Like the prodigal we realize we cannot    make things right, we cannot atone for what we have done and have no resource.

Yet, our salvation is in our memory, we remember the presence of our Father. His goodness, bounty and love draw us back and we seek to return home. The law of sin and death demands a debt is owed and must be paid. Still upon our own, we seek to find our own way and concoct scenarios and plans. We remember that God is good, but we have not fully known His heart or love. He is faithful and loving for His names sake, He keeps His promises and gives love to His children by grace.

We can return, which is repentance. It is really all we can do, and it is what the Father desires. In fact, one day all Israel will be saved in a massive return to her Messiah, Yeshua. The power of “return” is prophetically displayed today as Israel continues to be gathered from the four corners of the earth to their land irrevocably promised by God. Theirs is the ultimate story of the prodigal’s return to the Father. 

The period from 1932 to 1945, may have been the darkest times in Israel’s history as a prodigal – the Holocaust. Since 1949, and the reestablishment of Israel as a nation and the physical return of Israelis to the Land, there has been a slow, but steady increase of messianic Jews. These are Israelis who have accepted Yeshua as their Messiah. Contrary to what some say, they are fully Israeli as the Torah has not been eliminated, but fulfilled by Yeshua. The Hebrew prophets precisely and accurately identified Yeshua as Messiah. His return will complete Israel’s spiritual return and unite the entire congregation of God’s people world wide. Let us all return to the Father as Yeshua prayed, “…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:21)