Four Key Lessons from the Father of the Prodigal Son

Daily Devotional – Friday, November 19, 2021

As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust.

Psalms 103:13-14 (NKJV)

A wayward boy wakes up one morning and decides he wants to leave home. He confronts his father and demands for his birthright. The father is devastated.

“What have I done or not done to you to deserve this? Have you ever lacked anything I could give? Why, my son, do you want to leave?”

The whole family comes together to convince the unruly boy to change his mind. Their pleas fall on deaf ears. Not even his parents’ tears will convince him to stay. All he wants is to leave.

Reluctantly and tearfully, the father gives the young man his inheritance and allows the boy to leave.

Many people write off the disobedient son. They say he will amount to nothing. They hope he never returns home.

After many days, the suffering but remorseful young man returns home. Luke narrates, “But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20).

The father had never given up on his son. He hoped that one day his wayward child would return. The old man would look towards the highway, expecting his son’s return. That is why he was the first to see the tired rugged boy coming back home.

Lessons from the Father of the Prodigal Son

The father in this parable symbolizes God. From the father’s role in the narrative, we learn four important lessons:

1. While God loves us immensely, He does not interfere with our freedom of choice. God will plead with us to shun evil but He will not force us to remain in His presence. We must use our freedom of choice wisely and responsibly.
2. God is compassionate towards His wayward children and is ready to forgive the penitent. David writes, “As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust.” (Psalms 103:13-14).
3. Because of His compassion, God does not give up on us. He waits for us to return home. The angels of heaven are on standby, harps in hand, to celebrate your return home. If you return today, God will receive you with open arms.
4. Because God knows our vulnerability to sin, He bids us come to Him as we are, with our burdens of sin. The father of the prodigal son embraced his filthy son with all the sweat and foul smell. The old man did not ask the young man to take a shower first.

Abba Father, thank you because of Your love and compassion towards a sinner like me.ls