Return to the Father
Wednesday, May 31
Return to the Father
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How man of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!” Luke 15:17
The parable of the prodigal son has something for each of us. Some of us are prodigals. We’ve wandered far from home, far from our father, and far from our true calling. The here and now got the better of us and we recklessly pursued the pleasures of this world. But when the emptiness of it all sinks in, we’ve found ourselves completely alone at the end of a dead end street. The story in Luke 15 begins with rebellion but it ends with redemption. It is a story of grace, redemption, repentance and restoration.
Jesus tells the story to illustrate, among many other things, that people can be restored to a right relationship with God. It emphasizes the graciousness of the father more than the sinfulness of the son. Our heavenly Father’s love for us is beyond measure. When we are far from home, He eagerly awaits and yearns for our return. It’s God’s goodness, not just man’s badness, which leads us to repentance. After he came to his senses, and admitted his son, he was ready to go home. He rose up and said ‘I will go back’. It was an act of his will that led him from the father’s house but it was also an act of his will that lead him back.
Don’t stay away from the Father’s House. If you have come to your senses and are ready to turn from who you were, I encourage you to come home and experience the saving grace of the Father. For there is Grace in Daddy’s House.
Prayer for today: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen