Prodigal

"Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receives sinners, and eats with them. And he spake this parable unto them, saying … A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." – Luke 15:1-3, 12-20

At one point in my life, I had alienated everyone who loved me. My parents were disgusted with my decisions, my friends abandoned me, my wife left me and took our children with her, I lost my job, my good reputation, I had no money for food, and was homeless. God had blessed me abundantly, yet I wasted all the spiritual and physical blessings that God had given me. I had sinned against God and had run from Him. The years that I had spent sowing my fleshly desires had caught up with me. I was miserable, hopeless, and was afraid that there was no way back to God. My fear was that I had run too far, and I was beyond God's grace.

In today's text, we have one of the most well-known parables of Jesus. I believe that this parable is so popular because it is a message that we all are desperate to hear. No matter how far we have run or what we have done, God is there with arms stretched wide, simply waiting for us to come to Him. God reveals two truths among many others that are vitally important for us all to realize.

The first is that being a son or daughter is not a position that can be earned or lost, and the second is that God loves His children. When we return to Him, He does not beat us up over our miserable condition. God restores us to the position He had planned for us since before we were born.

God does not see time the way we do, thus, He was not surprised when I sinned. God always recognized me as His son and saw me through the blood of Jesus. He viewed me as the man that His perfect plan would make me. All of my sins were washed away, and I became the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). From the moment we are saved, God views us as perfect because He sees the righteousness of Jesus (Colossians 3:3). We are His children redeemed for a special role in His household.

When we receive salvation through faith in the sacrificial atonement of Jesus for our sins, we become a vital part of His body. We are God's children, and as His children we are called to His purpose, which is to share the gospel message with others suffering in this world. We have suffered and undergone tests and we each have a testimony. We can witness to those hurting because we have experienced pain, too. God may use these experiences of straying and returning to bring others home who are far away.

We all are prodigals in one way or another. We make bad decisions and find ourselves in the pigpen. No matter how dire our circumstances, we remain children of the most high God. When we come to our senses and return home, we can testify of our Father's love.