Many know Christ Jesus' parable about a father whose son left home, taking his inheritance to a distant country and wasting all he had on riotous living.Luke 15:11-24 Having spent everything, he found himself in a degrading position. There was a famine in that country, and he went to a landowner who sent him into the fields to feed swine. He was starving, and no one seemed to care about him. Perhaps he needed this hard lesson to wake him up, for eventually he realized his mistakes and in humility returned home, willing to change, even to be a hired hand in his father's house.
There is a lesson here for modern-day parents, especially in the father's response. He didn't scold, condemn, preach, or punish. When, from a long way off, the father saw the son coming back, he joyfully ran to meet him with a kiss, welcoming him back to resume his rightful place in the family. Not only that, he clothed the son with finery and threw a homecoming party to celebrate.
Some may consider this father a marvel that he could put his disappointment behind him so easily and treat his truant son like a king. But looking deeper, can't we see that scolding and condemnation never would have brought about the much-needed reformation? Was it not the unconditional love of the father that helped bring about the change?
