October 14, 2023: Home Must Be Attractive To Prodigals

"... 'At home, even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!" (Luke 15:17, NLT)

'Home' must be attractive if you want the prodigal to return there. The wayward son in our story remembered that even the hired servants in his father's house had more than enough food. Home was attractive enough to make the prodigal want to return there. This speaks volumes about the Father. Father can afford the servants! Father can afford to feed the servants very well. Father treats his servants very well because he cares for them. It causes the son to think, "Maybe I can go home and be a servant in my father's house.”

We are not God, but we better be the closest thing to God that our child experiences when they return home. We want to be like Jesus: "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." We are to model God to that wayward child.

The real hero of the story of the prodigal is the Father and the action he takes. Fathering is not a passive business. Good fathers take action—accurate action. This demonstrates what is going on in the heart of the Father. He runs to meet his child! He hugs him continuously. He covers him with kisses. He calls him his son. He requests a robe, sandals, a family ring, and preparation for the celebration of a lost son who has come home. What prodigal would not want to return to this home? Home must be attractive for prodigals!