READ -- Luke 15:11-32

"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'" -- Luke 15:21 (NIV)

The 15th chapter of Luke contains three parables which all have the common theme, "Rejoice and celebrate with me; that which was lost is now found." In verse 6 we read, "Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep." We read also in verse 9, "Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin." And finally in verses 23 and 24 we read, "Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."

In Luke 15:11-32 we read what is commonly referred to as the, "Parable of the Prodigal Son." Some have suggested this passage of scripture be renamed, the "Parable of the Loving Father"; for this parable describes the love the father showed his youngest son when he returned home.

The youngest son had what I call, "A real bad attitude." He wanted things his way, he wanted his inheritance now, and he wanted to be independent and out on his own. So, the son received his money, left home, and traveled to a distant foreign land. He soon wasted all of his wealth on a sinful and worldly lifestyle.

This nice Jewish boy now found himself in a non-kosher situation. He was hungry, had hit rock bottom, and was working in a pig pen. In verses 16 and 17 we read, "He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!'"

It took a pig pen experience before the youngest son came to his senses and realized how good he had it back home. Do we possess a, "I want it my way. And I want it now," attitude? Do we often find ourselves drifting away from our Heavenly Father and enticed by worldly possessions? God has given us the freedom to choose. What will it take for us to come to our senses? I am afraid many Christians will have to go through pig pen or valley experiences before they realize God still loves them.

Neither the son's father nor God caused the wayward son to end up in a pig pen. The son's own choices and actions put him there. In verses 14 and 15 we read, "After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs." Do we find ourselves in pig pen situations of our own making? If so, like the prodigal son, we need to get up and say, "I will set out and go back to my father." (See Luke 15:18).

The son had to come to a point of recognizing and realizing he was lost. In Luke 15:21 we read, "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'" The lost son made a public confession admitting he had sinned against heaven and also against his father.

In I John 1:8-9 we read, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." We also read in James 5:16, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

The lost son said he was no longer worthy to be called a son, but the father knew otherwise. In Luke 15:32 the father tells the elder son, "But we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."--Luke 19:10.

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