5. The Prodigal Son Comes Home (A Message of God's Unconditional Love)
Introduction:
Understanding the Heart of the Father
Before we explore this profound story from Luke 15, we must understand what Jesus wanted to teach us. He told this parable to religious leaders who criticized Him for welcoming sinners. They believed God's love had to be earned through perfect obedience. Jesus responded with this story to reveal something radical: God loves you not because of what you do, but because you are His child.
This parable sits at the heart of the Gospel message. The word "gospel" means good news, and the good news is this: God waits for you with open arms, no matter how far you have wandered. Let us examine this story together and discover what it means for your life today.
The Journey Away from Home (Our Rebellion Against God)
A father had two sons. The younger son made a shocking demand. He asked for his inheritance while his father still lived. In Jewish culture, this request carried a devastating message: "Father, I wish you were dead." Yet the father granted his request, dividing his property between both sons.
The young man gathered everything and traveled to a distant country. There he scattered his wealth on reckless living. He pursued every pleasure his heart desired. He thought freedom meant living without his father's authority. He learned a bitter truth instead: sin promises joy but delivers emptiness.
When famine struck the land, he found himself in desperate poverty. A Jewish boy feeding pigs for a Gentile farmer represented the lowest possible degradation. Pigs were unclean animals according to the Law of Moses (Leviticus 11:7). He grew so hungry that the pig's food looked appealing to him. No one gave him anything.
This describes your spiritual condition before returning to God. Romans 3:23 tells us, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." You have chased after things that promised satisfaction but left you empty. Money, pleasure, power, relationships, possessions - none of these fill the void in your heart. You were created for fellowship with God, and nothing else satisfies that hunger.
Coming to Your Senses - The Decision to Return
The young man came to his senses in that pig pen. He remembered his father's house. Even the hired servants had food to spare while he was perishing with hunger. He formed a plan: "I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants" (Luke 15:18-19).
Notice what happened in his heart. First, he acknowledged his true condition. He stopped making excuses. He stopped blaming circumstances. He admitted, "I have sinned." Second, he recognized his sin was ultimately against God ("against heaven"). Third, he accepted he deserved nothing from his father. Fourth, he decided to act on his realization. Repentance means more than feeling sorry. Repentance means turning around and going home.
Many people in India understand suffering. You know what hunger feels like. You know what poverty means. But spiritual poverty cuts deeper than physical poverty. Proverbs 14:12 warns us, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." You have tried to find peace through your own efforts. You have sought to earn merit through good works. Yet you still feel empty inside.
The good news arrives now: God waits for your return. You do not need to clean yourself up first. You do not need to become worthy first. You come to Him broken and hungry, and He will receive you.
The Father's Passionate Response - God's Overwhelming Grace
While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him. This detail matters enormously. The father must have been watching, hoping, praying for his son's return every single day. When he spotted that familiar figure on the horizon, he did something shocking for a dignified Middle Eastern patriarch: he ran.
In that culture, grown men did not run. Running meant hiking up your robes and exposing your legs, which brought shame. But this father cared nothing for dignity. He cared only for his son. He ran to him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him repeatedly. The Greek word used here suggests he kept kissing him again and again.
The son began his prepared speech: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father interrupted him. He did not let him finish his request to become a hired servant. Instead, he called to his servants: "Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found" (Luke 15:22-24).
Every detail in this response demonstrates complete restoration. The best robe signified honor and status. The ring represented authority in the family. Shoes marked him as a son, not a servant (servants went barefoot). The fattened calf, reserved for special celebrations, showed this was no ordinary welcome. The father threw a feast.
This father represents God the Father. Isaiah 55:7 proclaims, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." God does not begrudgingly accept you back. He runs to embrace you. He celebrates your return. He restores you completely.
You have wandered far from Him. You have chased empty pleasures and false gods. You feel unworthy to approach Him. But God runs toward you with open arms. His love does not depend on your worthiness. His love flows from His own nature. First John 4:8 declares simply, "God is love."
The Elder Brother - The Danger of Religious Pride
Now the older son enters the story. He had been working in the field. As he approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called a servant and asked what was happening. When he learned his brother had returned and his father had killed the fattened calf, he became angry. He refused to go inside.
His father came out and pleaded with him, but the older son exploded: "Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!" (Luke 15:29-30).
Notice his words carefully. He said "I have served you" rather than "I am your son." He viewed his relationship with his father as employment, not family. He said "this son of yours" instead of "my brother," distancing himself from his sibling. He focused on his own obedience and his brother's failures. He measured everything in terms of what he deserved.
This older brother represents the religious people who criticized Jesus. They obeyed the rules. They performed the rituals. They maintained their traditions. But they had no joy. They resented God's grace toward sinners. They wanted God to operate on merit, not mercy, because merit gave them superiority over others.
The father responded with gentle correction: "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive. He was lost, and is found" (Luke 15:31-32).
Many people in India fall into this same trap. You work hard to earn God's favor. You perform rituals faithfully. You follow traditions carefully. You strive to build good karma through righteous deeds. You compare yourself to others and feel superior to those who have sinned more obviously than you. But this approach misses the entire point of the Gospel.
Ephesians 2:8-9 makes this clear: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." God offers His love freely. You need only return to Him with a humble heart. You need only confess your sins and accept His grace.
The most dangerous position is not the position of the younger son, who knew he was lost. The most dangerous position is the position of the older son, who thought he needed no forgiveness. Jesus said in Luke 5:31-32, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."
Conclusion:
Come Home Today
This parable ends without telling us whether the older brother entered the feast. Jesus left the story open because the Pharisees listening to Him had to decide their own response. The same choice stands before you today.
Perhaps you identify with the younger son. You have wasted your life on things that do not satisfy. You have pursued pleasure, wealth, or success, and found yourself empty. You feel unworthy to approach God. Hear this good news: God waits for you with open arms. He will not reject you. He longs to restore you completely. Acts 3:19 urges you, "Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out."
Perhaps you identify with the older brother. You have lived a moral life. You have followed religious practices. You have tried to earn God's favor through your good deeds. But you have no joy. You resent those who receive grace without deserving it. Recognize this truth: you need forgiveness just as desperately as the obvious sinner. Pride is a sin. Self-righteousness is a sin. You cannot earn what God freely offers.
The feast has been prepared. The Father waits at the door, watching for you. Will you come home today? Will you confess your sins and accept His love? Will you stop trying to earn what can only be received as a gift?
Romans 10:9 gives you the path home: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Jesus is the way back to the Father. He died on the cross to pay for your sins. He rose from the dead to give you new life. Through Him, you receive forgiveness and restoration.
The feast begins today. Come home.
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Blessings,
Pastor JM Raja Lawrence
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
email: lawrencejmr@gmail.com
Mobile: +91 9933250072
