How did I get here? The young man took a long look at his life. He was penniless, homeless, filthy, and starving. You would never know he’d once lived comfortably in his wealthy father’s house.
 
But he had left home, cut off his relationship with his father, squandered his inheritance on a life of sin, and ended up in a pitiful state. He finally came to his senses. As he honestly considered his situation, a deep feeling welled up in him: I need to go back to my father. But he was so ashamed. After all he’d done, he wondered whether his father would even want him as a son anymore. In desperation, he decided to return home, confess everything to his father, and beg to be a servant.
 
The son was unaware of the depth of his father’s love for him. Little did he know that his father had been longing for him, waiting and watching for his return. Even while the young man was still a long way off, his father spotted him and ran to him, embraced him, and kissed him affectionately.
 
Filthy and ragged, the repentant young man confessed his sinful life to his father and said, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But his father responded by clothing him with the best robe and then sacrificing a fattened calf to feed him. With rejoicing, he called for a feast, saying, “Let us eat and be merry, because this son of mine was dead and lives again; he was lost and has been found.”
 
This parable recorded in the Bible reveals God’s infinite and unchanging love for us. Like the wayward son, each of us will eventually come to the realization of our true situation: we’re lost and need to be found. We may feel too ashamed to come to God. But He longs for every one of us to come back to Him.
 
In God’s eyes, to be lost actually means you’re dead in your sins. To find you and make you alive, God became a sinless man named Jesus, who died on the cross for your sins. Because He suffered the judgment for your sins, you can now return to God. If you repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ, you will be forgiven. Not only so, because Christ resurrected from the dead, you’ll also be made alive by receiving Him. Then you’ll no longer be lost; you’ll be found. You’ll no longer be dead; you’ll be a living son of God rejoicing together with Him.
 
God is loving and forgiving. He’s watching and waiting for you to come to Him. You can do this right now by praying this simple prayer:
 
“Lord Jesus, I’m lost. I’m dead in my sins. I need to be found. Thank You for coming to die for me on the cross. Thank You for resurrecting from the dead. I receive You right now. Come into me. Cleanse me and make me alive. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen.”