Welcoming home the lost

Welcoming home the lost
S  - Luke 15:31-32 (NASB)
³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”


O - The parable of the prodigal son is full of rich and deep meaning, the one that I felt compelled to reflect on the part concerning the son that stayed.  The response of the father to the older brothers complaint regarding the good treatment of the prodigal son is show here, and reflects how I believe God would speak to us who have already received salvation and restored relationship with Him, but might grumble at the task of helping the undesirable, the lost in sin,  even so much as giving away our own resources.  You see God is with us always 


A -  The application for me is to recognize that I am in the service of God.  He is with me always, and He is my complete resource of all I have.   It is from that place of confidence that I must be willing to help receive His prodigal sons as they return to Him.   The call to reach the world is one that requires God's people to reach out into a world that is lost, hurt, and in need of His love.  I (we ) need to be willing to celebrate with God as His sons and daughters come home. 


P - Dear heavenly Father, thank you for growing my heart for the harvest.   I pray you continue to reveal and equip me to reach the lost, to love them as you do, and to celebrate with the same joy that all heaven does when they come home to you.  I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen.