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By Rev. Dennis Van Gorp
Family Life Christian Center
In Luke 15:11-32, we find the story of a restless young man who asked his dad for his portion of the inheritance and then moved far away from home. Enjoying his new found freedom, he began to waste his money on friends, parties and the enticements of life.
Without a responsible lifestyle, his money was soon gone and so were his friends. He finally found work on a local farm, feeding the hogs. Life went downhill so fast that he soon discovered the slop the animals were eating was beginning to look good and edible. He knew he was in trouble.
He soon realized that his home life had been way better than his current situation. When he had decided that enough was enough, he knew it was time to go back home. Whatever punishment he would receive would be much better than his current life style.
He father was expecting that someday he would again see his long lost son. From a hill top, he saw him walking along the road and ran to meet him. He brought him into the house and gave him new clothes to wear. He ordered a feast of celebration to be prepared in his honor.
In this narrative, the father represents God and the son, you and I. We sometimes walk away from God and our place of comfort and security to experience life as we desire it to be. When we realize the hurt and harm we have done, not only to ourselves, but also to our family, our loving Father God is waiting to welcome us back home.
It doesn’t matter where we’ve been or what we’ve been doing. Our Lord loves us so much that He welcomes us back. He is the God of second chances, twentieth chances and fiftieth chances.
He carefully cleans and heals our wounds and gives us a new set of clothes. He totally forgives us, wiping away all of our tears and frustrations. He removes the wrongs we have committed and restores us to our place in the family.
If you have wandered away from God, tell Him you are sorry and He will lovingly welcome you back. Ask Him to help you get your life back under His control. He loves you very much and always will. Just promise Him one thing: you enjoy His love and are done with that old lifestyle, with no plans to go back to it. Welcome home!
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