“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!’”
Luke 15:17
The parable of the Prodigal Son may be a familiar story to you. In it we find a man wounded through and through. He betrayed his father, vividly illustrating our sin against a good and loving God. His wound is septic, poisoning every aspect of his life. He is separated from his father, squanders all his father’s good gifts, becomes enslaved to a far worse master than his father, and suffers nearly to the point of death.
What a grotesque and heart-breaking portrait! Can you just imagine the tattered rags, the emaciated body, the utter shame? Such were you and I apart from the grace of God. How can you lift your eyes to heaven after shaking your hand against its King? Perhaps you still feel that way, even as a Christian. You lament, if only God knew the severity of my sin and the heaviness of my shame.
He does! Before the Prodigal Son could do anything to close the gap, his father saw him, felt compassion for him, and ran to him. He bore the humiliation of his son, reminding us that Jesus would bear the humiliation of our sin for us.
What a grotesque and heart-breaking portrait! Can you just imagine the tattered rags, the emaciated body, the utter shame? Such were you and I apart from the grace of God. How can you lift your eyes to heaven after shaking your hand against its King? Perhaps you still feel that way, even as a Christian. You lament, if only God knew the severity of my sin and the heaviness of my shame.
He does! Before the Prodigal Son could do anything to close the gap, his father saw him, felt compassion for him, and ran to him. He bore the humiliation of his son, reminding us that Jesus would bear the humiliation of our sin for us.
Scripture Focus
Luke 15:11-31
Insight
We cannot even carry our soul wounds to God. They are too heavy. He knows, so He came to us to bear them for us.
Bible In A Year
- 1 Chronicles 20-21
- Psalm 3
- Matthew 3-4