We Were Once Lost, but Now We are Found

Thursday, April 23rd, 2026

4:38 am

Good morning! Today I am in Luke 15:11-32. Jesus tells the crowd another story. This time about a man with 2 sons. On day, the youngest son told his dad he wanted his half of the estate before he passed away. So the dad agreed to divide his wealth between the 2 brothers. A few days later, the younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and spent everything he had on wild living. When his money ran out, a severe famine swept the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a farmer to hire him, and the farmer sent him out into the fields to feed the pigs. He became so hungry that the pigs feed was starting to look good. No one would give him anything to eat. Finally, he began thinking that his father's servants always had food to eat, and some to spare, but he was starving where he was. He told himself that he would go home and beg his dad to hire him as a servant because he had sinned against him and heaven, and didn't deserve to be called his son. So he headed home. As he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. And filled with love and compassion, he ran to meet him. He embraced and kissed his son. The son told him that he had sinned against him and heaven, and that he was not worthy to be called his son. But his father told his servants to bring the finest robe in the house, a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet. As well as, to get the fattened calf and kill it so they could celebrate. Saying, "For His son was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found!" The older brother was in the field working. As he was returning home, he saw the celebration happening, and he asked a servant what was happening. The servant told him why his dad was celebrating, and he got angry and wouldn't go in. His father came out to talk his son into going in to celebrate. But the son told his dad, after all the years he stayed by his dad, doing everything he asked, never once had he done a celebration for him. But instead he celebrates his son that spent all his money on prostitutes. His father told him that yes he had stayed with him for all those years, and everything he has is his, but they must celebrate because his brother was dead and now he has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!

The young boy wanted to go out and experience life. Everything the world offered. And the father allowed the boy to have his portion, and do what he wanted. It is the same with us. We are raised by our parents, and at some point we all want to rebel or move away from home, and experience what the world offers. Because the world offers us so many interesting and exciting things. We may have grown up with parents that told us what not to do, but we still long to try it for ourselves.

The Lord allows us to do that. The Lord has blessed everyone of us with a free will. To make our own choices. The Lord created us from the very beginning, and He provides for us, but there comes a point in everyone of our lives that we have to choose to continue in God's will or to go into the world. God does not make us chose Him. He gives us an option. And like the younger boy, many times we do go out into the world, and partake of what it offers. And unfortunately, it takes us hitting our rock bottom, like this younger son, to realize things were better back home. And like the father in the story, our heavenly Father is waiting for us to come back to Him. Yes, He searches for us sometimes, like the sheep and the coin, but then there are times we ourselves choose to leave God. But He is so loving, He is patiently waiting for us to come back home to Him. And when we do, He rejoices like the father did in the story. But we must turn back to Him, repent (turn from our sinful ways), and ask Him to forgive us. He will. He is waiting on you to come back home.