He Welcomes Us Home

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  08/24/22

Have you ever considered that your true home is heaven, in the presence of our Holy Father? It is not God who is distant. Instead, it is you and I. And that is why Christ came: to bring us home.

Read Luke 15:11-24. In the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus makes this plain. It is the younger son who leaves for a distant country, while the father remains at home. The distance between them is caused by the son’s selfishness; the father has not moved. The son made the mistake of wanting the father’s blessings more than a relationship with his father. When he asked for his share of the inheritance, he was essentially telling his father, “I don’t want you. I only want what you can give me.” Can you think of a more hurtful thing to say? But this is what many of us say to our heavenly Father. We want His blessings, but we don’t want to take the time to really get to know His heart.

And so, like that prodigal son, we find ourselves in a far country. God seems so distant, and the blessings without the Father do not bring the lasting happiness we had hoped for. When the prodigal in Jesus’ parable was at his lowest point, the Bible says, “[H]e came to his senses” (15:17). In other words, he had a moment of clarity. He remembered his true home—and how good his father was to him.

This is why we can never give up hope, no matter how lost someone may be. We never know when God will cause someone to long for their true home in a way that leads to repentance and a relationship with Jesus Christ. The prodigal son wasn’t wrong about his father’s kindness. Though he planned to return home as a mere servant, the father wouldn’t hear of it. He loved his son too much for that and restored all his rights and privileges as a son in good standing.

This is the miracle of the Gospel: Though we deserve death, God welcomes us home. And though we come as servants, He makes us sons and daughters. To all those wandering in the far country, God reaches out and says, “It’s time to come home.”

Prayer: Father, thank You for making me Your child. Help me to share about the wonders of Your love and lead more prodigals to come home to You as You call. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).