Did Desperado ever come to his senses?

I know I have had some kooky inspirations; this one might give you pause. I mentioned it to a friend this evening and expected a light bulb to go on and hear a gasp, acknowledging this great thought…it didn’t happen so let me try it out on you! 

Seems a lot of my thoughts start with a song and this is no different… I was listening to “Desperado” the sole song by the Eagles on my iPhone, and as I listened to the words, waves of nostalgia washed over me, I listened to it again. 

The words began to form a shape in my mind of another character, one found in the Bible.

Can you guess who it was? 

I’ll share some of the words here:  “Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses? You been out ridin’ fences for so long now Oh, you’re a hard one I know that you got your reasons These things that are pleasin’ you Can hurt you somehow…  Now it seems to me, some fine things Have been laid upon your table But you only want the ones that you can’t get Desperado, oh, you ain’t gettin’ no younger Your pain and your hunger, they’re drivin’ you home And freedom, oh freedom well, that’s just some people talkin’ Your prison is walking through this world all alone.”  

Before we have the ‘reveal’, I will say that I have known many people through the years that fit that description, and have tried to help some of them, to no avail. The sooner we realize that only God can heal a broken spirit, the better off we are. People have wounds from a lot of things, some from childhood, being physically abused by a parent, being miserably disappointed in a trusted pastor or teacher, which seems to lead to a breakdown in their trust of the heavenly Father.

How can they trust a God they cannot see when they have been so let down by the very people they trusted most? 

Look at the words to the song again and think of a young man who looked off into the future and saw himself stuck on his dad’s farm, all work, no fun, and decided to take his inheritance, while he was still young enough to enjoy it, and run away. His dad must have stood and watched him as far as his eye could see, how sad he was. The young man’s brother was resentful at being left with all the work and seeing to it that his aging dad was cared for. I wonder if he ever wished he had thought of it first, his responsible nature would not let him go now and leave all the work of overseeing the planting and harvesting, the house and all the dependents, who worked for them. Meanwhile, Desperado is out winning friends by spending money recklessly, gambling, drinking, women, he was living the high life for sure, a real rock star! One day the bill was delivered to him and as his friends all sat around and waited for him to pay, he dug in his pockets, no money, he looked in his cloak, none there either. “Sir, I have good credit with you, don’t I? I’ll come by later and pay up!” The man growls and grimaces at him, “No, Desperado, your credit is no good here, you have gambled all your money away, you’re busted! I’m putting you to work out in back slopping the pigs until your bill is paid!”

From the highest peak to the lowest valley in a very short time, bankrupt, not only financially, but also morally. As he sat in the pigpen hungry, afraid, alone, he thought of his father’s table, always full of good food. “What am I doing sitting here in this mess for? I’ll go back to my home and just ask dad to let me be one of the servants!” Now his pain and hunger were driving him home. 

As he walked back up the road, his dad saw him from a great distance but recognized him…he ran up that road with open arms to welcome him back into the home, not as a servant, but as the son that he was.

I know I have had some kooky inspirations; this one might give you pause. I mentioned it to a friend this evening and expected a light bulb to go on and hear a gasp, acknowledging this great thought…it didn’t happen so let me try it out on you! 

Seems a lot of my thoughts start with a song and this is no different… I was listening to “Desperado” the sole song by the Eagles on my iPhone, and as I listened to the words, waves of nostalgia washed over me, I listened to it again. 

The words began to form a shape in my mind of another character, one found in the Bible.

Can you guess who it was? 

I’ll share some of the words here:  “Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses? You been out ridin’ fences for so long now Oh, you’re a hard one I know that you got your reasons These things that are pleasin’ you Can hurt you somehow…  Now it seems to me, some fine things Have been laid upon your table But you only want the ones that you can’t get Desperado, oh, you ain’t gettin’ no younger Your pain and your hunger, they’re drivin’ you home And freedom, oh freedom well, that’s just some people talkin’ Your prison is walking through this world all alone.”  

Before we have the ‘reveal’, I will say that I have known many people through the years that fit that description, and have tried to help some of them, to no avail. The sooner we realize that only God can heal a broken spirit, the better off we are. People have wounds from a lot of things, some from childhood, being physically abused by a parent, being miserably disappointed in a trusted pastor or teacher, which seems to lead to a breakdown in their trust of the heavenly Father.

How can they trust a God they cannot see when they have been so let down by the very people they trusted most? 

Look at the words to the song again and think of a young man who looked off into the future and saw himself stuck on his dad’s farm, all work, no fun, and decided to take his inheritance, while he was still young enough to enjoy it, and run away. His dad must have stood and watched him as far as his eye could see, how sad he was. The young man’s brother was resentful at being left with all the work and seeing to it that his aging dad was cared for. I wonder if he ever wished he had thought of it first, his responsible nature would not let him go now and leave all the work of overseeing the planting and harvesting, the house and all the dependents, who worked for them. Meanwhile, Desperado is out winning friends by spending money recklessly, gambling, drinking, women, he was living the high life for sure, a real rock star! One day the bill was delivered to him and as his friends all sat around and waited for him to pay, he dug in his pockets, no money, he looked in his cloak, none there either. “Sir, I have good credit with you, don’t I? I’ll come by later and pay up!” The man growls and grimaces at him, “No, Desperado, your credit is no good here, you have gambled all your money away, you’re busted! I’m putting you to work out in back slopping the pigs until your bill is paid!”

From the highest peak to the lowest valley in a very short time, bankrupt, not only financially, but also morally. As he sat in the pigpen hungry, afraid, alone, he thought of his father’s table, always full of good food. “What am I doing sitting here in this mess for? I’ll go back to my home and just ask dad to let me be one of the servants!” Now his pain and hunger were driving him home. 

As he walked back up the road, his dad saw him from a great distance but recognized him…he ran up that road with open arms to welcome him back into the home, not as a servant, but as the son that he was.

If you are a Desperado, come back home, your dad is waiting with a brand-new name written down in glory, no longer Desperado, but Child of God.