I am sure you have heard the story of the prodigal son in the Bible. It is one of the most well known parables of Jesus. If you have never heard it, that is okay, too. I will give you a recap. ( If you want to read the full story, which I highly recommend, it is in Luke 15:11-32). A son asked for his inheritance from his father and went off on his own to live in sin. He felt he would be more free and content that way, but sin did what it always does. He was left with no money, no family, and no love. As he returned, he had no expectation of being welcomed home; in fact, he decided that he would be fine with just being a servant of his father. Before he can even muster up an apology, his father runs to him and meets him with open arms. Then, the father decides to basically throw a party to celebrate the return of his beloved son.
If you have never heard the story, you may be confused about the father's reaction. Why does the father not scold the son? Why doesn't he say, "I told you so?" Why is he throwing a party in honor of the guy who literally left the family to live in sin? The answer can be summed up into one word: love. This is the love that our Heavenly Father has for us. Jesus told this story in order to demonstrate the love of the Father. It is hard to wrap our heads around a love this strong, unconditional, and beautiful, but it is the most real love there is.
Sometimes, in my walk with Christ, I get in this stage of feeling that I have to perfect in order to come to God. The enemy feeds me with negative thoughts of myself that I am not worthy enough to claim the title of a Christian. These are lies, and if you have these thoughts, dismiss them. The devil is tricky, and he knows if he can get you to believe you are not good enough for Jesus, you will not work for Him. Do not let the enemy win. Tell him to get behind you because you are a child of God, and while you have sinned, He already took care of it.
If you have strayed from the Lord, please do not feel too dirty to come back to Him. If anyone was beyond redemption, why would Jesus have come? The cross has the final word, y'all. Your sins were paid for on that cross, so lay them down at the foot of it. Just come as you are because He loves you way too much to leave you that way. He will meet you just as the father met the prodigal son. All He wants is your heart. Jesus does not want you to feel like you have to clean up to come to Him because He is going to wash you in His blood. He loves you with a love that none of us will be ever to fully comprehend. Let that love envelop you tonight, and let Him wash your sins away for all eternity.
"And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."-Luke 15:20 KJV
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."-Romans 5:8 KJV
