Daily Devotional for Saturday, September 24

True Repentance

Filth! O what a stink! The prodigal looked down upon the pen of pigs, not entirely certain how things had gotten so bad. He came from a loving if somewhat strict family. At least there had always been enough to eat. He tried to thrust it from his mind. There was no return. He was certain there would be no welcome from the father he had rejected. 

But the father of this story that Jesus told in Luke 15, was quite different from the picture that the prodigal had in his mind. The father of the prodigal had the mind of the God who looks beyond all the wrong and yet even now would call for true repentance. If only the prodigal son could have heard the heart which cries, “Return to me!” The father of the prodigal could have been out on the front porch of his house every day looking down the road and praying for his son to come home. 

Jesus may often be portrayed as the prodigal son who must have imagined His Father, a man who is harsh, unforgiving, unrelenting, bad tempered and cruel. My Father in Heaven is not that man. He is merciful, compassionate, restrained in temper and full of love. He has a history of relenting from punishment and would often leave a blessing along with reprieve. He desires everyone to turn in repentance toward Him and offer back to Him the blessing He is more than willing to give. 

REFLECTION: Do you need to repent by turning toward our loving, forgiving Father today?

David Thompson