The Prodigal Soul

The enduring wisdom of the human condition as seen through this wonderful collection of ancient parables.

Journeys that begin in brokenness rarely follow a straight road to healing. There are twists and turns--and setbacks--on the path of repentance. Night Driving tells the story of a pastor and seminary professor whose moral failures destroyed his marriage and career, left his life in ruins, and sent him spiraling into a decade-long struggle against God. Forced to fight the demons of his past in the cab of the semi-truck he drove at night through the Texas oil fields, Chad Bird slowly began to limp toward grace and healing. Drawing on his expertise as an Old Testament scholar, Bird weaves together his own story, the biblical story, and the stories of fellow prodigals as he peels back the layers of denial, anger, addiction, and grief to help readers come face-to-face both with their own identities and with the God who alone can heal them.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1872 edition. Excerpt: ... That there are sons in His church but little alive to" the immeasurable significance of conversion, and having but little share in the joys and sorrows of God over their lost and rescued brothers, is astoundingly true, and led the Master to add a supplement to his parable. There is such a thing as religious selfishness--taking one's portion of spiritual good and gloating over it in a corner. These are the soul-misers, and have need of repentance as well as the prodigal. They will soon be in the "far country," if they are not already there without knowing it. For if we love not our brother whom we have seen, we certainly will not long abide in God's love. When converts are multiplied in a church, there is always a little band, whose genuine joy is greater than when their corn and wine increase. There is a larger number who try to feel as these feel, and perhaps almost persuade themselves that they do. There is a third class, who pretend to a joy which they know they have not. And there is a fourth and final division, who neither feel nor pretend. Instead of being roused to unspeakable gratitude to God and intense tenderness towards the convert, they are able to stand aloof as critics and skeptics. They are fairly incensed at the " excitement" which pervades the church. They can see nothing in a "revival" to take Christians off their feet. The church's joy should rather be in the number of its respectable members of long standing and good standing. Or, if they express satisfaction at the increase of membership, their complacency is in proportion to the previous moral, social and .financial status of the incomers. The brethren, who have labored so long with that poor drunken coal-heaver, and who are so exhilarated at their success, are...

Reprint of the original, first published in 1875.

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