"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE PRODIGAL CHILDREN"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE PRODIGAL CHILDREN"

Luke 15:17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

Luke 15:18 ‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,

Luke 15:19 “and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’

Luke 15:20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had
compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,

Some explanatory thoughts, application, and a prayer:

1. This is one of the most touching parables that I know of. I certainly hope that God blesses you as You read it, and that He gives You hope to keep praying for your prodigal(s) or prodigals that You know who belong to your friends, and to other families.

2. There are some simple parts to this story. ( by the way, Jesus was giving this parable because His critics could not believe that He would eat and drink and associate with sinners.) See the two scriptures below that introduce this chapter in Luke 15.

Luke 15:1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.

Luke 15:2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”

You see, Jesus loves people, and came to the earth to seek and to save them by dying on the cross to pay for their sins, to rise from the dead to show He defeated death, and to invite men to come to Him by faith and be saved. God loves people, and does not want to see them perish, but rather desires that they would come to repentance, and that's what this prodigal son did, he turned his life around. And, Jesus loves your prodigal(s)

3. Let's look at some of the important details of this story.

(1) The prodigal ( by the way prodigal means to waste, ) this young man had wasted his inheritance, by riotous living. but, the Bible says, he "came to himself" Or when "When he finally came to his senses," Let's pray that the prodigal(s) you may have in mind, will do the same thing, come to their senses. Nothing is impossible with God.

(2) In coming to his senses, he realized that he could at least find food back at his father's house. And, he decided to head home to his father. But, more importantly, he realized his sin. Here's how the boy put it,

Luke 15:18 ‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,

Luke 15:19 “and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’

He really did come to his senses on many levels, both the practical and the spiritual. He realized what he had lost, and what he could find if he went home. He realized that he had sinned both vertically, against heaven, against God, and horizontally, against his father. And, he was desperate to go home and get things right with both God and his father. And, he showed deep humility and repentance, not demanding anything, but just willing to be put on as one of the servants  of his father.

(3) Here's the lovely and touching part of this story, and it's focus is now shifted from the the young man who was coming home to his father, who was it seems looking for him, and hoping he would come home.

Luke 15:20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had
compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,

The boy was still a great way's off, but the father saw him, and ran to him, and threw his arms around his son, and began to kiss him over and over again. ( by the way, the boy had been working on a pig farm, feeding pigs, and so he must have stunk to high heaven, and been dirty all over ) but that made no difference to his father. What love God has for His children. This father is an example of it.

(4) Let me just list the verses that tell us what happened next.

Luke 15:21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’

Luke 15:22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet.

Luke 15:23 And kill the calf we have been fattening in the pen. We must celebrate with a feast,

Luke 15:24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

5. The story is rich with truths about God, His love, the effects of disobedience and sin. The possibility of restoration. The unchanging love of a father for his son. And, the fact that a child in the worst of conditions, can come to himself, repent and come home and be restored into a right relationship.

A prayer:

Father, there are many, many prodigals. I would assume that everyone reading this devotional either has one of more personally, or knows of friends that have one or more themselves. The world is full of prodigals who at this very moment, are wasting their lives. You Lord, know where they are,

You know the conditions they are living in, and You know what is going through their minds and hearts. Our prayer is that these prodigals we have in mind, would also come to their senses, and realize what has happened, and began their journey home. Lord, we have prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and we continue to pray.

We know that You hear us, and we continue in this very prayer, that You would move by the convicting power of Your Holy Spirit in the lives of these prodigals, and bring them both to their senses, and to their homes. In Jesus name, amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier.
Calvary Chapel Visalia.