A Sinner Has Come Home

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

A SINNER HAS COME HOME

Luke 15:11-32

11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. 13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate. 25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' 28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' 31 "'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'" 

NIV

We have heard and read this account and labeled it, “The Prodigal Son” and go on. However, the narrative is not about the son who blew his inheritance on the good life and then decided to come home, and how the father graciously accepted him back, in fact, rejoicing because his son came home. Everyone knows this is all about how we were always children of God, and how we blew our inheritance and went about living our own desires, or squandered our wealth on wild living. Then at some point when we were at our lowest point, realizing our poverty we turned to God, we repented of our way of thinking and accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and God embraced us and there was rejoicing in heaven, but, unfortunately, there may not have been as much, if any at all, rejoicing by the oldest children of God. We do wonder if those who have been Christians most of their lives, that is grew up in a Christian home and accepted Jesus at a young age and learned to live under the rules their elders had established in the church, with all the do’s and don’ts of Christianity, and really are rejoicing as much as God is when an older person, who has never lived by any rules in life accepts Jesus and comes into the church filled with faith, and wants to share the joy of living by faith, being accepted by God purely because of faith in Jesus. We wonder if those believers may even be a bit out of sorts, wondering why this youngest is rejoicing so much and is not paying any attention to those do’s and don’ts. Maybe they are even prideful in their rules, and the rules and regulations of their church, or rather their denomination, or their long-standing positions in the church. Still, it is a wonderful thing when a sinner comes home, and there should be rejoicing all around, from all believers, for we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and the only way we have eternal life is through faith in Jesus Christ. None of our skills, talents, education, qualifications, or the amount of good works we do matters when it comes to inheriting eternal life. Should a person live all their life as a sinner, and on their death bed accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, without any ability to do anything, or stop doing anything and learn about all the rules and regulations, they are rejoiced over by all the angels in heaven, because a sinner has come home.