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Luke 15: 11-24 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry. In this story of the prodigal son, the first thing I notice is that the prodigal never stopped being the Father's son. There are people who say you can lose your salvation, but just how bad do you hafta be for God to disown you? It appears that this father regularly went to the hill top and looked for his son, and was there waiting for him to come home, and He RAN to greet him. I love this video that portrays this parable: http://www.youtube.comwatch?v=JzUrF3AYWS8&sns=em I can certainly relate to the story of the prodigal, because I was one for so long, but God opened my eyes about the attitude of the older son in this story. We see In Vs. 28 that the older brother became angry and refused to go in, but this merciful father went to the older brother when he wouldn't come in, and found that he had a rotten stinky attitude. Because this older brother was participating with the sins of anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, envy, jealousy, self-righteousness, accusation and self pity towards his brother, he cut himself off from the fellowship of the father and his household. We can't participate with evil and stay in fellowship with our Father. In vs. 29 he tells the father, that he's always been obedient and never neglected a commandment. He was depending on his own good works to gain the approval of his father, and looking down his nose at the younger son who was such a "disappointment" to the father. The older brother was confused, believing the way a lot of people do, that we'll get to Heaven by being good, and finding that we're saved by grace thru faith and not works, so no one, like this self righteous brother, can boast. Just think how tragic it would've been for the prodigal if he'd run into the older brother before the Father. He would've been lost and gone forever. How many prodigals never make it back to the Father because of the elder sons in the church have such stinking self righteous attitudes? There have been times when I've said, "God, I love You, it's Your people I can't stand." That should give a lot of Christians, including myself, cause to pause and check our attitudes. Papa God, NEVER let me feel that serving You is what I need to rely on for my eternal life. NEVER let me forget the pig pen I came from, that as people come in from their stinky pig pens, they don't need my judgement, they need a touch from the Father, and I'm only a tool in Your hands to reach out and touch them in Your name.

We cannot stop praying for our sons/daughters/loved ones to return to the Lord or come to Him as the case may be. With eyes of faith we see them coming while they are still a long way off. We keep praying and watching until our faith becomes sight.

god has that kind of compassion for us-welcoming us with open arms.

This is how our Father cares for us. Alot of times we might mess up and are out of fellowship but the Lord is waiting for us to return. This is a great parable for the backslider.

It is a representation of Jesus redeeming the lost with gladness and forgiveness.

My son just got saved in jail with my Pastor. My son had a hard heart and yet God worked a total miracle in his heart and he is now a new creature. I know my son said a prayer of coming home and the Father in heaven ran to meet him and embrace him with the power of the Holy Spirit and now calls him His son. Praise God for His amazing grace.

My son just got saved in jail with my Pastor. My son had a hard heart and yet God worked a total miracle in his heart and he is now a new creature. I know my son said a prayer of coming home and the Father in heaven ran to meet him and embrace him with the power of the Holy Spirit and now calls him His son. Praise God for His amazing grace.

God will seek me out and show his love to me, even when if wander away. Thank you Father for finding me.

I can just see in my minds eye a picture of God excitedly running to one of His lost children who have come to Him ashamed and saddened by their sin ,and God runs to them smiling with His arms open wide and a big smile on His face and tears in His eyes saying "My child you have come home,you were lost but now you're found and I love you." What a beautiful chapter I love the story of the prodigal son because we are all sinners and God is loving and merciful.