The story of the wayward son is a perfect story to answer this question. Sometimes Christians are like that younger son. They leave home and forget how good they had it living under their father’s care. They go out looking for a more exciting life, and they sin. But one day, they wake up and want the life they had when they lived in their father’s house.
The wayward son went back home hoping he could become one of his father’s servants. But his father did not treat him like a servant. This was his son!
The son cut himself off from the protection, care and blessing of his father. But he couldn’t stop his father from loving him, and he couldn’t undo his birth or stop being his father’s son.
The father had a big party to welcome his son home. And just like in the story, if a Christian comes back to God after sinning and wandering away, God will open his arms and welcome him home. This is good news!
The other story in this parable is the attitude of the older brother. The older brother was mad at his father because he had a big party for his younger brother. The Bible says, “When others are happy, you should be happy with them” (Romans 12:15). Life is not all about you. Be happy when someone comes back to God. Don’t be jealous when God blesses someone. Be happy, even if it is your brother or sister. Life is about God and the way he works in people’s lives.
The world in which we live promotes competition. Big companies spend millions of dollars to advertise products. How do they get people to buy? They want you to be jealous of kids who have a cool toy, or something else, so that you will beg your parents to buy it for you. They want adults to be jealous of those who have the newest cars, the biggest houses or the fastest computers. We must always remember that buying a product or succeeding in a career will never add anything to the value that God has already given us.
Think About This: If you are a sinning Christian, God is waiting to welcome you back home to the place where he can care for you. Like the wayward son, confess what a fool you have been and let God show you again how much he loves you. God has unlimited riches. Just because he blesses someone else, doesn’t mean he won’t bless you.
Memorize This Truth: “But if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. We can trust God to do this. He always does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrong things we have done” (1 John 1:9).