| Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash
In Luke 15, in the parable of the lost son, we see the response of the Father to the son, which shows us how our Heavenly Father responds to lost people. Picture yourself as the lost son, and you have just gone home after all of our sins, messes, and failures.
In verse 20, the son returns to the Father, the Father sees him, runs to him, and embraces him. The son says to his father, ” I have sinned against you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. That is confession and repentance. That is our response to our Heavenly Father.
In verses 22-24, we see the Father’s response to His Son and God’s response to lost people who come home to the Father. The father called his servants and told them:
* Bring the best robe in the house and give it to my son who has come home. Can you imagine that son, when they take the old, filthy, ripped clothes off of him and give him the best robe in the house? That is what Jesus does to us. He takes off our old ways, old sins, and gives us a robe of righteousness.
* Bring a ring for his finger. The ring would signify that he belongs to his father. God wants us to know that we now belong to our Father, and we are His Son.
* Bring sandals for his feet. Sandals were used to provide something between your feet and the dirt. God gives us everything we need from head to toe to walk in a relationship with Him.
* Bring the people, because we need to celebrate because this son of mine was dead, and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found. So the party began.
That is how our Heavenly Father responds to anyone who will come to Him, no matter what you have done. God is filled with love and compassion for you today!
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His One and Only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
What is keeping you from coming back to your Heavenly Father?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Center (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws on many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and from significant emotional experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is receiving rave reviews. The daily devotion appears in this publication.
