BY JESSICA LANDMON
If you have ever been to even one Sunday School class or attended a Vacation Bible School, there is a good chance that you were taught the story of The Prodigal Son. In the book of Luke, Jesus tells the story of two sons. One son asks his father to give him his inheritance early. He then leaves home and squanders all his wealth on wild living. Soon after, a famine hits the land, and he is now destitute and longing for the life he once lived.
When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. – Luke 15:17-20a
We often focus on the faith of the father in this teaching. While the son is away, the father continues to hold out hope that his son will someday return. This story is a great faith builder for parents who are in a similar situation. But this blog is not for the “father” in the story. This blog is for the prodigals – all those who have stepped away from the faith, who have intentionally made choices against God’s plan for their lives and are living a life full of willful disobedience, squandering away their God-given inheritance.
Today, I want to call the prodigals home.
Take a moment and examine your life. Have you walked away from God to pursue worldly desires? Have you sacrificed your relationship with the Lord for wild living? Are you chasing a lifestyle that is leaving you empty? Have you slowly inched yourself away from God’s covering? Do you feel unworthy to return to God because of those choices that you made? No matter what you have done, we need to understand that God is quick to forgive. He just wants you to return to Him.
Much like our Heavenly Father, the father in this story never stopped thinking about his son. He never stopped loving him. And, he never stopped caring for him. As the scripture clearly shows, the father was continually looking for his return, which is why he saw his son when he was “still a long way off.”
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. – Luke 15:20
Ladies, it’s not too late. It’s never too late to return to Jesus. You just have to decide in your heart that you are done living your life in vain. Repent, and live the life God intends. Jesus is waiting for you to return with arms wide open. It’s time to go home!