The Journey of the ProdigalIhe Atụ

Repenting When Loved

Luke 15:21 - “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

As we focus on the prodigal son, I am more and more impressed by this young man as he goes through this process. Here is a young man who at his darkest moment knew he needed to change and repent. He left his party familiar life and humbly walked the many miles home. 

What is impressive is that that when he hit bottom he made a vow to himself to his heart that he would not only go home but he would keep his vows. He vowed that he would repent for sinning against heaven as well as  how he had sinned against his earthly father.

As he walked day after day. This vow stayed constant or possibly grew. He was truly committed to repent and to verbalize his repentance. When we repent to someone we are admitting our wrong our weakness to this person. In many cases when we repent to someone especially an authority figure we are implicitly making ourselves accountable to that person.

This level of accountability helps our soul to reinforce that we don’t want to go back to our old way, our old friends, our old ways of thinking and we want to embrace a different path. Sometimes  it is the path we knew was right before us the whole time.

I have worked with thousands of addicts especially like this young man whose brother knew he spent the father’s wealth on sex and drinking. The bottom experience is real but that can be solely circumstantial. When a man or women repents from their heart, then their behavior, friends and ideas change rapidly. They report getting their senses back, feeling differently about their past and the healing path they have chosen.

If you are a prodigal,  I would strongly suggest repent to God. He longs to forgive you and restore you. You will also need to repent to those you hurt, manipulated, lied to, stolen from or broke their hearts with the lies and deception from your desire to act out in some inappropriate or dysfunctional manner.

When we repent, we can be given an opportunity for not only a new heart but also renewing those injured relationships.

If you are  a parent waiting for the prodigal, wait patiently as you place this child in the Father’s hand to do what he can to help him or her first repent and then restore him or herself to you.