Father’s Day is tomorrow so it seems appropriate to preach about a loving but firm father who allowed his rebellious son to leave but was ready and waiting to forgive once the rebellious son came to his senses and returned home.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son, found in Luke 15:11-32 is the third of three parables Jesus taught in Luke 15; The Parable of the Lost Sheep and The Parable of the Lost Coin are the other two. In each of these three parables Jesus demonstrated what it means to be lost, how heaven celebrates with joy when the lost are found, and how the loving Father longs to have peace with His people.
There is one little difference between the first two parables and the third one. In each of the first two parables a diligent search was made for that which was lost. Luke 15:4 Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? Luke 15:8 Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? However, in the case of the prodigal son nobody goes out and searches for the son, nobody runs after him, he is simply allowed to leave, why?
We will explore this parable in greater detail in tomorrow’s lesson. Praying everyone has a great Father’s Day and a blessed week.
In Christ,
Gary T.