The prodigal son
Phumzile
Prodigal sons still exist. You could even say: there are a lot of them. But sometimes you look one in the eye. And it touches you in particular. An encounter you won’t easily forget. It was a Friday afternoon in May. I’m walking through Phumzile. The food distribution takes place around noon. In the distance I see a line of people waiting for their turn. I start talking to some of them. I know some of them from the Bible class on Friday afternoon. Others are unknown to me.
A group of white men is also waiting for their lunch. Today it’s rice with vegetables. The meal looks delicious. Yes, they do have to be patient. But those who are hungry, will wait. After the meal everyone goes their way again.
The white men argue with each other and have a lively conversation. Then they also get up to leave. Except one. He tries to get my attention and not much later we are sitting next to each other. He is sitting on a tree trunk. I am sitting on a rock.
Like every human being, he too needs attention. A short chat. Because apart from that, he is actually very lonely. He doesn’t seem like the type who enjoys begin alone, but rather someone who seeks out the company of other people. I ask, ‘What is your name?’ ‘My name is Sander*’, an Afrikaner name. ‘How are you?’ I ask. He doesn’t need much encouragement. The simple question sparks a whole conversation. I listen attentively and he briefly tells his life story.
His parents move when he is 16. He doesn’t want to leave his school and friends behind and doesn’t come along. He’s going to live on his own. That is not a success. He starts experimenting with cannabis. He has been smoking this ever since. He does not complete his matric (high school graduation class). So he leaves school without a diploma. Nevertheless, he finds a great job as a Diesel Mechanic. He turns out to be a smart technical boy with exceptional abilities. He can tinker with trucks and agricultural vehicles, and does a very good job! His boss also realizes this and pays him well. Nevertheless, he receives an offer to work somewhere else for double the amount. Well, what do you do then? It doesn’t take long for him to decide. The money is beckoning.
Unfortunately, it turns out that his supplier of cannabis has a wider range of products for sale. And he sees opportunities. Not much later, Sander starts experimenting with heroin and then also with crystal meth, a chemical drug. His good salary ends up in the wrong pocket. His addiction is expensive. He now needs more than he receives. He finds ways to make up for his lack of money and… ends up in prison.
He is imprisoned for two years.
Sander decides to turn his life around. When he is released, he finds himself in the covid pandemic. He stops using substances on his own. He gets into a relationship and according to himself he is doing very well again. Then things go wrong after a few years. They break up. Sander ends up on the street with a backpack and sleeping mat. He picks up his old addiction again. And now he walks around here in Phumzile. How old is he? I estimate him to be in his late twenties or early thirties. Already a broken life. A prodigal son.
I ask him about his perspective in life. Sander wants to leave everything behind. And start again. A fresh start. He’s going to leave this place. He won’t come back here again. He says, ‘You are the last person I speak to here in Phumzile. I’m leaving for Durban soon.’ Durban is a large city about 600 kilometers to the east, on the coast of the Indian Ocean. ‘I want to make a completely new start there. I’m leaving my old life behind.’
But God is mighty to save (Isaiah 63:1). He can also save this Sander. Yes, in this work you mainly point away from yourself and point to Someone else. The Lord Jesus Christ who can pull sinners out of the deepest pit of miry clay and set them on a rock. The Rock of Ages.
At the end of our long conversation, I ask Sander, ‘Actually, do you have a Bible?’ ‘No, I don’t. ‘Do you want one?’ ‘You made my day!’ he says with a smile. You made my day. Together we walk through Phumzile, on the way to my car where I have a supply of Bibles. Before I give him the Bible, I write a personal message in the front, with a reference to Luke 15. An encouragement to read this chapter.
Then I ask, ‘Shall we pray together?’ Yes, he would like that. And so we stand by the hood of my car and pray together. Who else should we look to? Then Sander puts his new Bible in his backpack. He hoists his backpack onto his back and takes his sleeping mat in one hand. With his other hand he gives me a firm handshake. Thanks for this conversation!
Then he turns around and walks away. On the way to Durban. Backpack on his back, sleeping mat in his hand, and off he goes. Walking and hitchhiking towards a new future. I watch him leave. What will become of him? God knows. The Bible is in his backpack. The Word of the living God travels with him. My words cannot save him. But God’s Word is quick and powerful (Heb. 4:12). He is mighty to save. No pit is too deep for God’s eternal arms to reach the bottom of a lost sinner’s existence.
Then he disappears from view. I wish that one day I may hear from his mouth:
‘He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.’ (Psalm 40:2,3)
* Fictitious name
Georg Lindhoud
