<p>15:15 <i>And he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs</i>- The son was attached to a &quot;citizen of that country&quot;, perhaps a personification of the Biblical devil to which we are joined before conversion. He was made free from him the moment he started his journey back. He &quot;was dead, and is alive again&quot; is also baptism language (cp. Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:13). &quot;He arose&quot; from the pigs (Lk. 15:20) certainly implies new life and resurrection.</p><p>We don&rsquo;t like to think of ourselves as that thankless young man; but even more do we revolt at the idea that we were and are at times out there feeding pigs. Anyone who&rsquo;s travelled in the Middle East will know the annoyance of a beggar attaching themselves to you and just refusing to leave you. But watch how the locals deal with those types. They don&rsquo;t shout at them, or chase them. They will ask them to do something which is beneath even their dignity as a beggar to do. And they walk away shamefaced. I knew a brother who was a schoolteacher. The boss wanted to fire him because of his Christianity. The boss didn&rsquo;t say &lsquo;You&rsquo;re fired Clear off&rsquo;. He simply transferred him to a remote village in the middle of nowhere. And so the brother did the only reasonable thing- he resigned. The young man &lsquo;joining&rsquo; or &lsquo;gluing&rsquo; himself to the rich Gentile citizen was like the beggar who glues himself to you, and you don&rsquo;t know how to shake him off. The pig owner told him to go and feed his pigs- thinking that this would surely be beneath this once-wealthy Jew who was hassling him. But so desperate was the young man, that he had to swallow every drop of pride, national and personal- and go do it. And he felt like a pig- he was willing to eat what they ate. <i>This</i> is the picture of our desperation at every sin- but we need to feel it, if we are to experience the path back to the Father. In an age when sin is often more about the words you type on your keyboard than actual physical debauchery, this parable hits home hard. Of course it was pride which was in the way for the son, and it is swallowing pride which is the essence of repentance. And again, it was fear of shame that delayed the young man&rsquo;s return- fear of having to go through the <i>kezazah</i> ceremony of being officially disowned, fear of how the mob of young kids which roam every village street would whistle and shout and sing insults at him. And we need to pause and reflect whether we contribute to this significant barrier which surely hinders so many from returning to the Father&rsquo;s house. &nbsp;</p>