The Lost Son

2010-06-18

One of the most powerful and poignant passages in the Scriptures is the Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-31). It captures the essence of every person’s relationship with Jesus Christ.

Whether consciously or otherwise, every person has said to God, “Leave me alone--I am going to do life my way.” This is just as the younger son says to his father in verse 12. When we do this, our sin catches up with us, and we are brought to a place where we recognize our need of God. This younger son had lost everything because of his wastefulness, and he ended up feeding a stranger’s pigs with better food than what he was eating.

When this young man returns to his father expecting to be a slave instead of a son, he is honored greatly by and is restored to his father.

We all wholly crave someone that, regardless of who we are, what we have done and where we have gone, accepts us. I believe this is why the parable speaks so intimately to me, because we see the face of God in the father of the lost son. You can hear the tenderness in the father’s voice, see the tears of joy on his face, and feel the compassion bubbling up from his heart. When we seek the face of God by recognizing our need for him and seek him, God reacts in the very same way out of the boundless love he has for his prodigal children.