For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. Luke 15:24
Sometimes, through His love, God lets us learn the hard way what “freedom” apart from Him really feels like.
Spoiler: it’s not freedom.
God never forces us to stay. He doesn’t coerce or control us. We’re given a choice. If we want to go…He lets us go.
But God, gracious beyond all else…doesn’t lock the door behind us or yell after us, “Just you wait.” He gently whispers, “I’ll be here…waiting.”
In Jesus’ story, the younger son starts out proud and entitled.
He demands what he thinks he deserves and runs off, chasing pleasure, status, and belonging.
But the money runs out.
The friends disappear.
And he ends up feeding pigs…starving, humiliated, broken.
Then, in his lowest moment, he remembers his father.
He decides to return home. No longer as a son, but as a servant.
Yet while he’s still a long way off, the father sees him.
Filled with compassion, he runs to him, embraces him, and restores him as family. (Luke 15)
We don’t have a God who merely holds open the doors of heaven, but who left heaven behind, running to us and embracing us with all grace and mercy, to walk beside us on our way home.
Maybe you haven’t taken your father's inheritance or been feeding the pigs. But maybe you’ve put your worth in your performance, chased success and come up empty, or looked for pleasure in a world that can’t satisfy.
Maybe you’ve been there. Maybe you are even there now…far from home, wondering if the Father would still want you back.
You don’t have to stay feeling this way. You can be found.
Run back to the Father. He wants you. He’s been waiting for you, but you have to know it’s not what you deserve. Don’t try to earn your way back. Just come home with empty hands, and let Him fill them with His love, back in His arms, where you belong.
And if you’ve been home for a while, don’t ever go back into trying to earn your stay.
Serve Him—not to prove you deserve to be His kid, but because you already are.