And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God's people. – Proverbs 5:14

Today's Scripture Reading (November 2, 2022): Proverbs 5

On Sunday afternoon, I had an experience that warmed my heart. Another congregation uses our sanctuary on Sunday afternoons, and I have made friends among the people who attend this service, even though I am not their pastor. On this afternoon, as I was leaving the church to head home for some much-anticipated time with four of my grandchildren, I met a man who was entering the sanctuary in preparation for his service. I smiled and greeted the man by name. I was glad to see him because I knew his story. I hadn't seen him for a couple of years. The man had found himself in conflict with almost everyone in his life. First, he had left his church and all of the relationships he had built there, but the conflict followed him home until he left his family for unknown places. At one point, no one seemed to know where he was. I am in contact with two of his daughters, who had admittedly given up on their father. It is a situation that I have been trying to work on in during his absence. As the father of a daughter, I am convinced that, at some point, this man would come to his senses and discover how much he needs a relationship with his children. And I believe my job might be to see if I can convince his children to understand that and give him one more chance.

This man did come to his senses. He came home and asked for forgiveness from his wife. And then, he asked for time to address the church, his spiritual family, and ask them for their forgiveness. Led by another friend of mine, the church had forgiven him. And then we met at the back of the church. I smiled and greeted him by name, genuinely happy to see him, and then he asked me a question; Can I hug you? I quickly set down my guitar so that I could respond to the embrace. And my heart was filled with joy as I witnessed with my own eyes another prodigal who had come home.

Solomon tells his son that he has not followed the teachings he learned as a child. Solomon admits that he has a problem with women. Not only had Solomon married 700 women, but he had 300 concubines. And these women became his downfall as Solomon began to follow their gods instead of the God of Israel. It was a struggle that continued until he was in serious trouble with the people of God. It wasn't a path that Solomon wanted his son to follow, so he begged his son to listen to his teachings and avoid the pitfalls that had triumphed over him.

And we get to read this advice and hopefully take a different path than Solomon had taken so that our lives go, at least spiritually, in a different direction.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Proverbs 6