PARABLE OF TRANSFORMATION: Much has been written regarding Luke Chapter 15 and there's been a great debate regarding which theme(s) should be considered and which one(s) ignored; however, this book will take a different approach by viewing it as a parable of transformation. The wilderness (or desert) is the place where transformations occur. As you read through the Bible, you'll see that God had many of the heroes of the faith participate in their own wilderness adventures, for example: Moses and the Israelites, David, Elijah, John the Baptist and even Jesus. They were all transformed by their desert experiences.The desert is God's preferred learning laboratory for believers. All believers will likely spend some time in the wilderness, in God's "boot camp." Some will enroll multiple times. But, the bottom line is this: God is still in control and he has a plan to conform you to his image (Rom. 12:2) so that he can have greater fellowship with you. God is sovereign even when you're in the midst of a wilderness experience and feeling scared, confused or overwhelmed. The wilderness may seem like it's the "wrong" path, that you've gotten lost or strayed from God, but he can redeem even the most crooked path and use all of your experiences along the way for good (Rom. 8:28).In the end, the "right" path ultimately brings you closer to God whereas the wrong path ultimately takes you further away from him. You can't really tell until you get to the end of the path. People in your life may be critical of your life choices, but in reality, they may not be seeing God's hand at work in your life, invisibly, behind the scenes. Consequently, you need to be true to yourself and trust God to bring you home, and he will!