When we’re by ourselves, are we really alone, or is God always with us?
Christ Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son provides a useful tool to answer this very question (see Luke 15:11-32). The story focuses on a son who felt that he was completely able to deal with life on his own terms and outside of his father’s care. Longing to be on his own, he requested his inheritance from his father, received it, and squandered it away.
The son had quite a time of it, but then subsequently made a mess of things. But the Bible tells us “he came to himself” (verse 17). This is one of my favorite lines in the story! To me it says that the son mentally woke up to realize he didn’t have to go it alone. He had a change of mind and heart that redirected the downward-spiraling course of his life. He recognized what had always been true—he was not alone. His father had never stopped being “there” for him. His father had never stopped loving and supporting him unconditionally.
