Found Part One - The Lost Son

In the parable of the lost son we see three people directly involved in this story of a son (lost person) being restored and forgiven by his father (God) Read Luke 15:11-31. In this blog we will look at the younger son with the following two looking at the Father and older brother.

The parable starts off with the younger son asking for his share of his inheritance. This would have been particularly hard for the father as his son may as well have said ‘I wish you were dead’. The father would have been very wounded by this harsh demand but nonetheless he divided up the estate between his two sons.

The son immediately took the money and walked away from his father to pursue a sinful lifestyle only to squander his entire inheritance. After leaving his father, the son’s life went to ruin. While in this dark place he comes to his senses and returns to his father.  There were four significant changes that occur in his life that are of value to us today.  

1.       Recognise - Luke 15:17, 18 “When he came to his senses, he said... I will set out and go back to my father...

 Recognising sin in your life is critical to coming into a right relationship with God but also for Christians to walk in the fullness of what God has for them. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us and bring us to a place of acknowledging the sin in our lives so we can deal with it.

2.       Repent - Luke 15:21 ...’Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

We can recognise the sin areas in our lives and yet not do anything about it. God calls us to repent/turn away from everything the Bible calls sin and follow after Him. With His help you can overcome anything. The son did not go back to his father the same; he went back a changed, repentant man.

3.       Humility Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble...

The son went from a place of great pride and arrogance when he demanded his inheritance, to a place of heartfelt humility on his return. Humility is having a modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance. It puts other people before you and also elevates God.

4.       Run to God Luke 15:20 So he got up and went to his father

We need to be people who are humble enough to run to God when we blow it but also know that He wants us to come to Him! Sometimes we can be like Adam and Eve in the garden where we hide from God because we are ashamed of our sin.  As in the garden, God is looking for us and wants us to run to Him even when we mess up. This ‘found’ son did not want to live his life separate from his father and likewise God wants all His children to live their lives with Him too.