The Prodigal GodSample

The prodigal God—Lesson 2

We blame God for our sinful choices. After an affair, the adulterous husband asked his pastor, “If it was so wrong, why didn’t God stop it?” God doesn’t send lightning bolts to keep us from every sin we commit. He didn’t stop Adam and Eve from eating the fruit; though, he warned them. The father in Luke 15 didn’t stop his son from running off into wild living.

When God the Father says, “I love you, so you are free to go,” that doesn’t mean God turns his back on you. Here’s our second lesson. When we leave for sin, God immediately says, “I love you, so I want you back.” This is clearly seen in the father’s reaction to his son’s leaving in Luke 15. He longed for his son. When the son repented and returned to his father, we read this: “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him” (verse 20). Not a lookout. Not a servant. The father saw him. The prodigal love of this father caused his heart to yearn for his son’s return.

The prodigal love of your Father in heaven causes his heart to yearn for your return. Too often we see God as barely holding back his fiery judgment, almost as if he wants to destroy us. That’s not your Father’s love for you. God is not out to get back at you; God is out to get you back to him. He longs for your repentant return.

What’s holding you back?