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In the story of the wayward son told by Jesus in Luke 15, we learn from the character of the older brother how we should celebrate with God when people come to faith in Him instead of being cynical. From the character of the younger, wayward brother we learn some truths about ourselves and what we’re like before coming to faith in Jesus. What I love most in this story, though, is what we learn about the character of God. These are the two aspects of this story we’ll be unpacking in our conversation today.

If you aren’t a follower of Jesus and you think there’s no way God could ever want you or forgive you for what you’ve done, I think you’ll find this post helpful. To read the full prodigal son story before we start our chat, head here.

We All Have Strayed

Though raised in the father’s house, the wayward son rejects his father, asks for his share of his inheritance early, and squanders his life and money on sin and wild living. He does this to the point that he runs out of money just as a season of famine is approaching . So, to survive, he convinces a local farmer to hire him. As he works, the son becomes so hungry that even the food he was feeding the pigs starting to look appealing to him. It’s when this son hits rock bottom that the Bible says he “came to his senses” and decided to return home to his father.

Whether you have never been a follower of Jesus or used to walk with Jesus and have strayed away from Him, it’s God’s kindness and mercy toward us to let us have moments when we “come to our senses.” Those moments when we feel the weight of the life of sin (disobeying God’s commands) and separation from God our Father that we are living.

Those moments when He lets us reach the end of our rope and feel the consequences and burdens of what life apart from relationship with Him and the protection of His ways is really like. Those moments when we realize that we need Him and we desire Him and though we have sinned, we can come back to Him. In those moments, we experience the convicting work of God’s Holy Spirit in our hearts, drawing us to God. (John 16:8)

The Lies of Guilt

While the son had a moment of conviction, sorrow and realization that he could return to his father, we learn a lot about how the son believes his father will respond to him when he comes back home as he’s rehearsing his “dad, I’m sorry” speech.

 ^“I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,  and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ (Luke 15:18-19)

The son didn’t really believe he was worthy of being called a son anymore. He thought that the father would surely reject him as a son, being unwilling to forgive him for his sin, and that the most he could be from now on was a servant in his father’s house. That’s what a lot of us think too. Maybe you can relate.

Maybe you’re not a Christian and when you hear people talk about Jesus forgiving your sin and giving you access to relationship with Him, you think “there’s no way God could forgive me for the things I’ve done. There’s no way He could love me or want me. God has to be mad at me. There’s no way He could ever accept me.” Maybe you feel a sense of shame and hopelessness that forgiveness and relationship with God is something you could ever experience, and that there’s no way your life could turn around.

Remember my favorite part of the prodigal son story? The part where we learn about God’s character? It speaks truth to those lying feelings of hopeless guilt and shame. Let’s talk about how God responds to each of us when we come to Him with our sin.

How God Responds to Us When We Come to Him

 1. Compassion

“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20)

I love that this verse says that while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Did you know that God is not waiting to begrudgingly welcome you into relationship with Himself, but He is eagerly looking for and waiting for you to come to Him?

And when you do come to Him, He will receive you the same way the father in this story received his returning son. He will be filled with love, joy and compassion toward you.

It’s important to know this–and you may have heard some of it before. God does not approve of sin or rebellion against Him because it’s against the holiness of His nature and the perfection of His design for humanity. His heart is grieved when we sin and when we live life apart from Him. There are eternal consequences to the choice not to follow Jesus with our lives, because God is, at the same time, loving and merciful as well as just and righteous. But God doesn’t actually want any of us to be separated from Him for eternity. He gives us a choice to follow Him or not, but the desire of His heart is that we would choose Him.

God isn’t angry at you; He wants you to come home to Him. (Psalm 103:8-18) That’s why He sent Jesus to be the Savior. (John 3:16-19) The Bible tells us in Ephesians 1:4-5 and Romans 5:6-11 that God loves us even while we are still sinners. Even before we give our lives to Him, even while we’re still in rebellion against Him, even while we want nothing to do with Him and He isn’t even on our minds yet, He loves us.

We also learn from the Bible in Luke 15:1-10, just before the prodigal son story, that God actually pursues us when we are lost and our hearts are far from Him. He made you and me to know Him. He wants each of us to come to Him in a personal relationship and He works in our hearts toward that end. It’s up to us to respond to Him, but He initiates and persists in His pursuit of us.

Wherever you are in your faith journey right now, God loves you and He is pursuing you too. He is waiting with an open heart and open arms to receive any person who will turn from their sin and place their faith in Him to save them and lead their lives.

2. Forgiveness

 “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. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 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.” (Luke 15:22-24)

You might think that if you approach God with your brokenness and shortcomings that He’ll just hold it over your head forever and make you feel bad about how messed up you are, but the Bible teaches that God forgives our sins against Him when we come to Him with a broken and repentant heart. As we acknowledge our sin, declaring our faith in the work Jesus to save us and His Lordship over our lives, our sins are wiped away and God’s presence enters our lives. (Acts 3:19)

God’s forgiveness isn’t something any of us can earn of our own merit. Our human efforts are not enough to do that. God’s forgiveness is a gift we receive because Jesus died and rose again to pay the penalty for our sin against God. (Ephesians 2:8-9) There is salvation and forgiveness of sin in the name of Jesus and in no one else. (Acts 4:12)

You are not so far gone that Jesus can’t save you. It’s as simple as turning your heart to Him and surrendering your life to Him. Read this blog post for more about what it means to be a Christian and how to begin a relationship with Jesus.

3. Acceptance

“We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’” (Luke 15:32)

John 1:12 says this about Jesus: to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. When you give your life to Jesus, you become a child of God. You are welcomed into friendship with Him…forever. Under His loving care and direction as your Father…forever. When you come to God in repentance for your sin, He will accept you, not reject you.

Like we talked about, God actually wants you to be near to Him in relationship. He made you for that very purpose. He created humanity so we would seek Him and know Him. (Acts 17:27) It brought God pleasure to make a way for you to be close to Him through the saving work of Jesus. (Ephesians 1:4-5)

If you trust in Christ, you have the privilege of getting to know God and allowing Him to make you more and more like Him. You have the privilege of walking through life with God as your companion and leader. You have the privilege of being taught by God how to walk in His ways, honor Him with your life and live in this world the way He intended. You will have challenges and trials, of course, but you will walk through life with fulfillment and purpose because you are living life with God, like He designed you to, instead of without Him.

So next time you feel like you can’t turn to God because of your sin, remember that if you come to Him sincerely through Jesus Christ, you will be forgiven, and welcomed into relationship with Him as His own son or daughter.

Sincere Christians and Weak Moments

Something I’ve learned over the course of my walk with Jesus is that you don’t have to be living a life of complete sin and separation from God for your heart to wander a bit. Even as genuine, mature Christians we all go through seasons of busyness and distraction that dull our heart’s desire for God and steal our time with Him. We go through painful seasons and trials that weigh on our emotions and sometimes we even get angry at God. We get discouraged in our battle against sin and feel like we have to distance ourselves from God because of it, even though He doesn’t feel that way.

I’ve had plenty of seasons where I still believed in Him and did all the right things a follower of Jesus should do–and sincerely so–but my heart was not as turned toward Him as it had been in other seasons. I’ve definitely had some moments when I’ve needed to return and refocus.

I treasure the moments when God in His kindness has gently drawn my heart back to Him, reminding me that no matter how distracted I’ve been, how much pain I’m in, how frustrated I am with my own weakness, He is always there, loving arms open wide, reaching for me. So even if you are already a strong follower of Jesus, let this message encourage you too. We all have wander moments and we can always come back to Him.

***BONUS CONTENT: I wrote this song based on Luke 15 about the very topic we’re discussing today. It’s written from the perspective of God speaking to us, letting us know that whether you have never known Him or have known Him and strayed, you can always come back to Him through Jesus. This is “Back To Me.“  I hope it encourages you.

Let’s Talk: Did you learn something new about God in this post that you didn’t know before? How has it changed your view of how God responds to you when you wander from Him and then return? Discuss this post in the comments below.

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