Bringing Forth Your Best
"The father said to his servants, Bring forth the best...For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found" - Luke 15:22,24

After a long, sinful trip, far from home, the prodigal heard these words which he would have never fathomed hearing! He was no longer worthy to be called a son, but was treated as an only son. He deserved nothing, but received the best. Coming back to God, after wasting the very life which He gave you, would seem to be a frightful trip. The Father has been sinned against, forsaken, and shamed by His child. "This my son was dead..." Did he really die? Yes, such was the condition of his soul which was spiritually dead, separated from His Father's grace. However, the depths of God's grace stand ready to be poured out into the life of just one repentant! "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Romans 5:20). "Bring forth..."

"The best robe"
Coming from the swine fields, a new robe was needed! And not any robe, but the Father's own. "He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10). If you want to give God your best, but struggle in doing so, just take some time to remember what you used to be before the Son of man found you and look at how He has changed you now! Remember that if you have received Jesus Christ that a greater miracle has happened in you than the caterpillar to butterfly miracle-transformation! Remember that if you were the only sinner who ever lived He would have still came and died just for you. He gave you His best and nothing less.

"Put a ring on his hand"
Such a ring would have carried a family sign, showing his restoration into the Father's family. Such a son should have been made an unpaid slave, just as we, but think of the rewards in the Father's house that await for those of the Father's family! Consider what Jesus Christ endured as He, the Son of God, became the Son of man so that you, a son of man, might become a son of God! The ring would have also been used as a seal, to prove that the Father's precious Spirit had sealed him eternally. He has promised you forever His best and nothing less.

"And shoes on his feet"
"Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6:15). It was time to begin a new race in his life, time to use the Father's supply for the greater works! We often feel unequipped to serve the King. We even disguise our fears in humbleness and say that we just don't have what it takes, but in saying so we forget everything that He has freely given to us. "Moses said unto God, Who am I?...And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM" (Exodus 3:11, 14). Our focus should never be on ourselves, but always on Him. We don't have to ask who we are, we know we're just like the prodigal. We need to remember who He is! Do you feel that you're lacking for His service, lacking in desire, skill, motivation, courage, strength, or anything? The Father will never leave you short of the equipment you need to live for Him, for He Himself is your sufficiency and He is abounding, anything else is against His very nature! From salvation to security to service, He has brought forth His best to you! "Bring forth the best..." Through His grace He has given us His best and nothing less so that we will produce and bring forth unto Him our best and nothing less!