October 13, 2023: Understanding the Lost Life

"And when he came to himself." Luke 15:17

I want to revisit yesterday's devotional and focus on what needs to change in us before the prodigal returns. Because the Father in the story of the wayward son is our heavenly Father, nothing in Him needs to be changed. Everything is right about Him!

We, on the other hand, require repair, restoration, and updating. Sometimes, we are so focused on the prodigal that we forget that God wants us to change first. Maybe God wants to work on our pain, bitterness, and disappointments first. Maybe God wants us to find comfort in Him first. Maybe God wants to take a little self-righteousness out of us first. Maybe God wants to change our despair into joy and thanksgiving before the lost child returns home. Maybe God wants us to live in His anointing so that His kindness and pleasure will be clearly expressed to that prodigal when they come home.

Pain has a way of hindering growth. Sometimes, parents fail to grow while the prodigal is away. Then, when the prodigal returns, they find the same judgmental, self-righteous attitudes they lived under while they were home. Most prodigals come home broken and need lots of mercy, love, and patience. Only a mature, growing Christian parent can supply that need. Let's position ourselves before God to become more like the Father. Because we have been with Jesus, may we be everything the prodigal needs and more besides.