Come Home

For my birthday last week, my wife kidnapped me and took me away to a mountain retreat. We spent the restful few days walking and talking; just spending time together. The mountain air was crisp and the leaves were just this side of peak. I couldn't help but thank God "for the beauty of the earth." Fall is, after all, my favorite season, perhaps because I was born in mid-October. Whatever the reason, being here, in this setting, is like coming home...

One of our excursions took us into the college town of Montreat. The surrounding mountains serve as the backdrop to this Presbyterian campus. There are numerous hiking trails in the area for nature enthusiasts (and had the weather cooperated on this day, we would have been out one one or more of them).

One of my favorite sights of the campus is the Chapel of the Prodigal, named for, and featuring, a fresco of Jesus' parable found in the Gospel of Luke.



From Montreat's website:

"The interior of the Chapel of the Prodigal was designed as a complementary setting and focus for the large fresco, the Return of the Prodigal,creating an intimate yet uplifting worship space... After squandering the inheritance he demanded from his father, the prodigal son returns home from a far country seeking forgiveness and acceptance. The father receives him with love and joy, reestablishing his place in the family.

Painted by North Carolina artist Ben Long, the fresco is a visual reminder that we are all indeed prodigals and God is calling us to come home.