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Today's focusThe lost son comes home expecting to be a servant, but his father runs to him, embraces him, gives him the best robe and throws a feast, saying, 'This my son was dead, and is alive again.'
Read
17And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
Reflection
In moments of deep need, you may feel like the son in this story who found himself perishing with hunger. When he decided to "arise and go" to his father, he expected to be treated as a servant, believing he was "no more worthy" to be called a son. Like him, you might worry that your past mistakes define your standing with God or that you must earn your way back into His favor through hard labor.
However, the passage shows a father whose love moves faster than our fears. While the son was still "a great way off," the father did not wait for an apology; he "ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." There was no period of testing or slavery. Instead, the father provided the "best robe," a ring, and a celebration. This welcome confirms that you are not a hired hand, but a child who was "lost, and is found." Your arrival is not a cause for shame, but a reason for the Father to "be merry" because you are alive again.
AI-written reflection on the passage above. Let Scripture itself be the main thing.
Reflect
How does it feel to know that God ran to welcome you, not to punish you, when you came to him?
Pray
Father, thank you that you saw me while I was still far away and ran to welcome me. I am not worthy, yet you call me your child. Help me to rest in your love today.