Today is Born to be Wild Day!

Since today is Born to Be Wild Day, let’s take a look at the Bible’s “wild boy”. Remember him, the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32? According to Webster’s Dictionary, “prodigal” means reckless, extravagant . . . in a word, wild.

So here’s the situation. A father had two sons. One day the younger son asked the father for his inheritance right away. The father agreed, and the son took off. The son spent all his money on wild living. Soon his money ran out and he had nothing to eat.

The son was so desperate that he begged a local pig farmer to hire him to feed the pigs. But no one gave the son anything. Soon the pig’s food even looked good to him. The son, with all his wild living, had hit rock bottom.

Finally the son came to his senses. He decided that even his father’s hired men were better off than he was. Maybe if he begged his father for forgiveness, his father might hire him. So he headed for home. When the boy was still a way off, the father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to hug his son. The story ends with the father holding a huge party to celebrate his son’s return.

Even though the son had messed up big time, the father still loved him and welcomed him back. That’s good news because we all have our “wild” days—those times when we do what we want to do and forget about God. When we do, the best thing to do is remember that God is always waiting with open arms for us to return.

“We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.” So the party began (Luke 15:23, 24).

To Do

Read the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. Imagine that you are one of the characters in the story (the younger brother, the father, the older brother). How would you have reacted?

Also on this day

1857—William H. Taft, the 27^th president of the United States, was born today.

1928—Alexander Fleming discovered the antibiotic penicillin in a mold.

1982—The first issue of USA Today was published.

1984—Prince Harry of Wales was born.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.