Come Home to the Father

✍️ By Pastor Gary Boyd

Have you ever felt like you burned the bridge you needed most? 🔥 Maybe it was a friendship, a marriage, or a season of life where you just drifted. Maybe you said something you wish you could unsay… or made a decision you can’t undo.

Some folks wander far from the people and places they need most, chasing something that feels urgent or exciting at the time. Others stay close, do all the “right things,” and still feel unknown, unseen, and unloved. 🫥

Whichever category you fall into, there’s good news: Jesus sees you—and He told a story just for you. It’s found in Luke 15, and it reminds us of this simple truth:

👉 The Father welcomes the broken.

📖 A Story About Two Sons—and a Father

When religious people grumbled that Jesus was spending too much time with sinners, He didn’t argue. He told three stories instead. First, a lost sheep. Then, a lost coin. And finally, a lost son.

Actually… two sons. One ran away. One stayed angry. But the spotlight isn’t really on the sons—it’s on the Father. His heart is the center of the story.

One son wastes everything and winds up starving in a pigpen 🐷. He decides to go home—not as a son, just as a hired servant. The other son stays home, but when his brother returns, he refuses to celebrate.

And through both of them, Jesus shows us the depth of our need—and the greatness of God’s grace.

👀 The Father Watches with Compassion

The younger son demands his inheritance and leaves. That kind of request in the ancient world was like saying, “I wish you were dead.” 😔 But the father doesn’t fight him—he lets him go.

Not because he doesn’t care, but because love gives space. Love longs for relationship, not control.

When the son hits rock bottom, no one helps him. He’s broke, hungry, alone. And that’s when something shifts: he remembers home.

And guess what? While he’s still a long way off, his father sees him. Which means… his father had been looking. 💔👀

God allows people to wander, but He never stops watching for their return.

✅ Try This:

Is there a part of your life where you’ve been drifting from God?

This week, write it down. Pray each day: “Father, I want to come home in this area.”

Tell someone you trust. Let them walk with you.

🏃 The Father Runs and Restores

When the son starts heading home, he’s rehearsing his speech:

“Father, I’ve sinned… I’m not worthy… just let me be a servant.”

But the Father doesn’t wait. He runs.

And in their culture, that was shocking—dignified men didn’t run. But this father didn’t care what people thought. 💨💙

Before the son can finish his speech, the Father wraps him in a robe, puts a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.

• 👗 Robe — restored dignity
• 💍 Ring — restored authority
• 👟 Shoes — restored identity (slaves went barefoot, sons wore shoes)

Then? 🎉 He throws a party.

This is the gospel. God didn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up—He came running in the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus lived the life we couldn’t live, died the death we deserved, and rose again to offer us new life.

You don’t earn this. You don’t work it off.

You just come home… and He welcomes you.

✅ Try This:

If you’ve been trying to earn God’s approval—stop.

Before you leave today, pray. Talk to someone. Or write your own version of the prodigal son’s speech—and then tear it up.

Come home, not as a servant, but as a son or daughter.

🚪 The Father Invites the Proud

The older brother hears the music, sees the party—and refuses to go in. He’s angry. “I’ve been faithful,” he says. “Where’s my celebration?”

His bitterness exposes a painful truth: you can be in the Father’s house and still far from His heart.

But the Father doesn’t shame him. He goes out to him too.

He pleads, “Son, everything I have is yours… but your brother was dead, and now he’s alive.”

The story ends without a resolution. Why?

Because it puts the decision in your hands. Will you join the celebration?

✅ Try This:

Have you been standing outside the joy of grace—judging others instead of celebrating?

This week, take one step toward someone you’ve judged or resented.

Show grace. Then pray, “Father, help me come into the joy of Your house.”

💬 So… What’s Stopping You?

No matter how far you’ve gone…

No matter how cold or proud you’ve become…

The Father still wants you. And He’s not just waiting—He’s running.

The robe is ready. The table is set. The music has started. 🎶

There’s a seat with your name on it—not because you earned it, but because He loves you.

Will you come home to the Father today?

🕊️ If you’re ready to receive Christ, or if you just want to talk more about this message, we’d love to talk with you. Let us know how we can help you take that next step toward home.

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