New Year’s Lesson from a Loving Father
We had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.
Luke 15:32
At the turn of a new year, many people make resolutions to improve themselves. They’re going to start dieting and exercising. They’re going to pick up a new hobby. They’re going to form good habits and get rid of bad ones.
Many people also resolve to start going back to church.
Maybe that’s you.
Maybe you’ve been away from church for a while. You don’t know if you really can go back. You may feel as though you have to start all over and earn your place again. If you start as a servant, you can work your way back up into being a son or daughter.
That’s what the younger son in Jesus’ parable thought. Do you know the one? The younger son wanted his inheritance even before his father died. The father mercifully granted him his request even though it was a slap in the face. This son wasted all his money and soon found himself broke. Famine hit. He had to hire himself out to pig farmers doing the dirtiest of dirty jobs.
Then, he came to his senses. “How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.” And that’s what he did.
But as he approached his childhood home, something surprising happened. His father ran out to meet him. He wasn’t mad. He wasn’t upset. He wasn’t disappointed. He was overjoyed that his son had returned home. The father refused to hear the son’s plan to restore himself. The father restored the son on the spot: “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”
Don’t be afraid to return to your Father’s house! He’s not mad. He’s not upset. He’s not disappointed. He’s not going to make you earn your place. It’s been earned for you by your Brother Jesus. God’s waiting for you to return with open arms to forgive you and restore you as his son or daughter!