When I think of the prodigal son the theme that comes to mind is love.
One of the great things about having a supportive parent, friend or spouse, is that you know that they are going to be in your corner, loving you all the time. This is also true with our relationship to God. God is always in our corner, always ready to lift us up and support us and this is beautifully portrayed in the parable of the prodigal son.
As much as we hate to admit it, we are that younger son a lot of the time. We often sin, forsaking our Father, giving into our desires, but it's up to us to ask for forgiveness. It is our choice to come before our Father and say “Lord forgive me for I have sinned,” or as the parable says “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” 10 times out of 10 God will embrace you because he knows that we will mess up, yet he loves us anyway.
One of the greatest blessings we have is our ability to think and act freely. This freedom we’ve been talking about and the cultivation of it is important in our relationship with God. For example, the older son chose his father all throughout his life. Then when the younger son came back the father threw a celebration, but the older son was angry and reasonably so. However, we have to remember that it wasn't a matter of which son the father loved more, it was the rescue of the younger son that caused the feast to occur. God loves us all equally so even if we are the obedient and loyal son, we are still cherished. It is those who stray from the path that we must pray for. It is those who give into other idols and reject God that we must care for. Their redemption should indeed be praised for in the words of the parable “he was lost and now is found.
We thank you Lord for our freedom and our ability to choose you. We thank you for being a light in the darkness and a solid foundation during the storms of life. Help us to be that same light, to utilize our freedom to help others. Let us pray for those who are the prodigal son right now, that they may find their way back to their loving father. Unworthy and yet accepted anyway. Let the same be true for us, both when we abide by you and when we fall to our own unhealthy desires. When we are the older son and the younger son. So go out into the world knowing that you will mess up, but you have a confidant that loves you always. No matter how big that mess up was, God the Father will forgive you.
-Jackson Halliday