Doubting The Prodigal Son

   This has been on my heart for some months now, and though I'm not taking much time to totally organize my thoughts, it's better to be out there in a jumbled mess than just stuck in my head.
   All Christians know the story in the Bible of the prodigal son & we all have that self-righteous feeling that, "If I had been his brother, I would have welcomed him back with open arms!" And maybe, if it only came down to concurring jealousy in regards to your father giving the once wayward son a party instead of you, his "perfect" child, then maybe you would welcome him back. But what about another scenario... What if, instead of jealousy holding you  back from participating in the return of your brother, it was doubt; Doubt fueled not only by the past actions of that brother, but by the negative words of others toward him as well.
   The Devil loves using doubt as a stumbling block in many areas of our lives, and one of those is doubting someone's sincerity when coming back to God from a wayward path. The penalties for your doubt can be costly in many ways.
   First off, if we have been praying for this person to turn from their sinfulness for however long they have been in it, then the fact that we have doubt is not only doubt of that person, but of God as well. Were you really just praying for them because it's what you're "supposed to do," but you actually never had faith that God could or would answer that prayer?! Well,  that's what is interpreted from your doubt. Anyone can be transformed by God's amazing mercy & love, but why do we doubt it when it hits close to home? If you feel this way, you need to examine your heart and ask God to give  you faith.
   God commands us to "Bear one another's burdens." - Gal. 6:2  By letting doubt creep in, we pull away from any chance of truly helping to bear the burdens that  person is still carrying. We actually make it worse for them by adding more burdens because you will come across as self-righteous and that is not only a burden for them, but could actually push them away so much that they fall back  into sin.
   Another negative aspect of doubting a prodigal's return is you, yourself missing out on one of the greatest celebrations of life. What a wonderful opportunity to worship God & thank Him for His marvelous ways! Why would you keep yourself from missing out on that?!
   Bottom line, we are commanded to love our brother. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with  the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." Unless you know for a fact that your brother is lying, you must trust. If it ends up that he is lying about his transformation, who is in the wrong but him alone? If you do not show trust, support, hope & love then you are the one in the wrong. We must "keep no record of wrongs." If our doubt is because of past actions & "wrongs" then we are not loving that brother like we are commanded to do.
   It all boils down to two things: Love God & Love People. Pray for the love of God to fill your heart for that prodigal and He will use you in ways you can't imagine.
"Hatred stirs up strife, but LOVE covers all offences." - Proverbs 10:12

12/22 - To add to what I already wrote, since something else has come into play & come to my attention; If you DO find out that the prodigal is still a prodigal, you still must love him even if he doesn't love you back. Some people have issues beyond our coontrol: mental, spiritual & otherwise, that we can't do anything about. All we can do is love and pray, even though it may be very hard to do. They may accuse you of not being loving just because you don't agree with them, but God knows your heart.

Soft Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Everyone that truly knows me knows I have a major sweet tooth. I love sweets. That's all there is to it. I can't do anything about it and I really don't want to. I do have pretty good self control most of the time, but as far as some of my favorites, it's hard to hold back. One of my top five favorite sweets are cookies, but not just any cookies. They can't be the nasty processed, grocery store cookies; they must be made from scratch. And they can't be crunchy; they gotta be soft. And as far as flavors go, I have a few favorites: peanut butter, snickerdoodle & oatmeal raisin are my top three. So, I am going to give you the recipe for the best cookies I have ever made and the best oatmeal raisin I have ever put in my mouth. I got the recipe from my dad's cousin, Nora, who passed away a few years ago. She brought us some at some point when I was a kid and I begged my mom to find out how to make them. I'm so thankful to have the recipe. I hope you love them as much as I do!

P.S. These make quite a few. Maybe 5 dozen? Not exactly sure though, because I always eat so many as each batch cools. :-/

2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 small box vanilla instant pudding
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (To make this more of a "Christmas cookie" I put 3/4 tsp. instead.)
3 cups Quick Quaker Oats (Make sure to use the Quick Oats that say "Quick 1-minute." It makes a big difference on texture.)
1 cup raisins (If you don't like raisins you can use chocolate chips or whatever other kind of chips you like, but I prefer raisins in these.)

Beat together butter, sugars and pudding mix until light and fluffy.
Blend in eggs and vanilla.
Add combined flour, soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix well. Stir in oats and raisins.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove with spatula while still a little warm.