Prodigal Son

                             Prodigal Son

 Read passage here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+15%3A11-32&version=NIV

OR -- turn in your Bible to  Luke 15:11-32

     There was a man who had two sons, and he gave them an inheritance. The younger son decided to go away, and he fell into a life of wickedness. When he realized that the world was not as appealing as it had seemed, he decided to return to his father; upon returning, he asked to be a servant in his father's house to pay his father back for what he had done. His father accepted him joyfully and called for a feast, but his older brother resented the fact that his father had been so gracious to the wayward son. He felt that he deserved to be punished instead of welcomed. 

*The father in the story represents God.

*The younger son represents the lost person.

*The feast represents the joy in the heavenly realms when a sinner returns to God.

*The older brother represents the cold, self-righteous Christian who resents God's compassion on a wicked person. 

      Aren't we all prodigal sons in our own way? Hasn't our Father accepted us all back into the family? What joy we must have that God is so willing to forgive. NOW, we must be that way toward others. When a sinner comes to God (no matter how sinful his life had been - after all, sin is all the same to God), God wills that we rejoice with that person, rather than resentful toward him. God never said it would be easy. That's why we must surrender to Him - and we do that through prayer and submission.

                              Albrecht Durer's Praying Hands