Scripture to Read: Luke 15:11-17
Today we start to unpack the parable of the prodigal son. As we begin in Luke 15:11-19, we find a man with two sons. The younger son asks his father for his share of the inheritance. At first glance we just think this son is a little selfish, but this son has a hatred for his father. To ask a father for an inheritance, especially in the time when Jesus shared this parable, would have been like saying to his father, “You are dead to me, so all I want from you is what I’m owed since I’m your son.” Of course, the father in this parable represents our Heavenly Father. Let’s not miss the response of the father. The father says nothing, but instead gives the younger son what he has asked for and he also gives the older son his inheritance as well. This father loved his sons so much that even when the younger son considered his father dead to him, the father still blessed him by loving him unconditionally and gave him his inheritance. We read in Luke 15:13-15 how the younger son left, spent everything he had been given and became poverty-stricken. The son, thinking he could fix his problem (Proverbs 14:12), became a slave to someone and was given the task of feeding the pigs. Finally, in his physical and spiritual brokenness, in Luke 15:16-17, the son realizes that he can serve his father and be able to eat decent food from him. His brokenness opened his eyes to his father’s love.
Challenge & Application
1. What did God teach you today about His unconditional love of you, even when you may not love Him back the same way?
2. What, if anything, is in your life that you need to die to in order to love God the way He loves you?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!