Sermon Central
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The Lost Son
Contributed by Brent Kirby on May 27, 2011 (message contributor)
THE LOST SON
A young boy, around the age of eight, lived in Alaska with his parents. His dad was the Boy Scout leader of the area. The troop of the young boy decided to go mountain climbing up a two mile high mountain called Bald Eagle. The boy loved to climb and made a competition with the other boys to see who could climb the quickest to the top.
The boy went further and further up, losing sight of the troop and his father, but did not slow as he did not want the other boys to catch him. As he climbed he learned it was easier to climb at a diagonal. Spiraling up, he finally reached the summit. It was lonely and cold as the wind blew across the hard rock surface of the mountain.
Time passed as he waited for the troop. Fear began to take hold of his mind. "What if I’m on the wrong mountain? Maybe I crossed over to another mountain and I’m lost!"
Two hikers seemed to appear from nowhere and asked the boy if he was okay. "Yeah," he said, trying to muster courage in his voice. "My Boy Scout troop is coming up."
The men left and the young boy was again alone. With nowhere to sit securely, as time passed the fear and doubt began to creep in again, "What if a bear comes up here?" The boy thought of descending to find his father but was unsure the way as he had spiraled up to reach the top.
Looking down from the peak, he saw a small farm with a pond in the valley below. He decided to venture there. Going down was easy, but his fear of a bear grew as he entered a forest. He began to run with tears streaming down his face.
He came to an old dry mud road and followed until he stopped at a fork. "Which way?" He thought. He took the left. Finally, the road opened to the farm. He ran to the cottage and peered through the screen door to find a family eating at a table.
A woman came out and asked about the situation. She pointed to the mountain and gave the boy binoculars. "Look for your father up there." The boy watched intensely for any sign of life at the top of the mountain. Nothing. Were they there?
Suddenly, the boy saw color in the midst of the gray rocky surface. Tiny figures arose to the top. "Dad!" The boy cried out in tears. "I’m down here!" Though the boy could not hear a response he recognized his own father from such a far distance. The tiny figure quickly began to move down the mountainside and disappeared into the treeline. After what seemed like seconds, the father ran from the forest and with tears, embraced his young son, glad that he had found his lost son.
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