“We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!” - Luke 15:32
God is like the father in this story. We are like the Prodigal Son. When we sin and turn away from the Father, he doesn’t stop us or run after us. He gives us the dignity of choice, but he also gives us the freedom to live with the consequences of our choices!
Like the Prodigal Son, sinful humanity “lives it up,” wasting life in rebellious living (Luke 15:13). After a while, the “pigsty” in which humanity finds itself doesn’t seem such a good idea after all. So some of us prodigals come to our senses and return to our offended and grieving Father (Luke 15:17). And, like the prodigal son, we find our Father waiting and watching for our return. True repentance leads to forgiveness. God forgives us and brings us back to himself.
The grace of God is clear in this parable. The son wasted his inheritance, hurt his father deeply, and brought dishonor to the family name. But when he came to his senses, the son realized that the only thing to do was to take that long walk home and beg for forgiveness.
The human race is composed of prodigals. All of us have been on the road of rebellion, seeking to find our own way. Each individual needs to make that long walk home! Have you returned to God? Have you renewed that broken relationship with your Father? He is watching and waiting for your return. And he has a party planned!
For Further Study: Luke 15:11-32
Excerpted from The One Year Devotions for Women, Copyright ©2000 by Jill Briscoe. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
For more from Jill Briscoe, please visit TellingtheTruth.org.
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