I think the parable of the Prodigal Son should be the study of a lifetime. I am often the Prodigal in my own small, less-dramatic way, trading my blessings, my opportunities and especially my time, for things of little value. I need to learn from the humility and repentance of the Prodigal son. I sometimes stand in the role of the father, seeing the Prodigal returning from far off, and I need to run--not walk!--to meet him. And every time I read that the unfortunate young man "began to be in want... and no man gave unto him," I wonder what I could give someone who is at the point of "coming to himself" and returning home.
Luke 15 contains this beautiful parable, beginning with verse 11. But before Jesus tells this story, he speaks of leaving an entire flock to seek one lost sheep, and of sweeping an entire house to find a single lost coin. Even before the sermon begins, we find Jesus reaching out to the lost--the "publicans and sinners," who gather to feel His love and to listen. If we will follow the Savior, both in precept and in action, there is much that each of us can do to turn the Prodgial for home.
| 