RETURNING HOME PT. 1
RETURNING HOME – Part 1
Some Things Will Never Change
Luke 15:17-20
There comes a moment in a person’s life when the chaos of our choices settles down just enough for truth to be heard again.
In Luke 15, the prodigal son had reached such a moment,
Luke 15:17-20
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
“when he came to himself.”
That’s phrase is so powerful because it reminds us that running from God will always take us away from who we are really meant to be, but returning to Him not only brings us back to God, but also brings us back to ourselves.
The young man in this parable had wandered far, made his choices, and felt the weight of them.
Hunger, regret, and emptiness became his daily dose of misery.
But in the middle of all that, one thought broke through: “My father…” Even after everything he had done, something inside him knew, home was still there.
That’s where this truth needs to speak to someone’s heart today:
You need to know that The Return home comes with the assurance that some things will never change.
No matter how far you run, no matter how long you stay away, the Father’s love does not change because of our failures.
It is not weakened by distance, nor canceled by mistakes.
I’m not saying that there will be no consequences, I am saying based on God’s Word that His love and compassion is rooted, and unmovable.
The son rehearsed his return speech. He was ready to come back as a servant, not a son.
That’s often how we think when we’ve drifted away, we somehow lower our expectations of grace.
We prepare ourselves for rejection, or at best, a cold reception.
But what we find in this story is something altogether different.
Before the son could even finish his heartfelt words, the father saw him “a great way off.” That means he was watching. Waiting. Hoping. And when he saw him, he didn’t turn away, he ran toward him. There was no “I told you so” just the same Love that the son once walked away from, he now experienced in a whole new way.
That kind of love doesn’t change.
Malachi 3:6 says,
“For I am the LORD, I change not…”
God doesn’t love us one day and withdraw the next. His nature is constant. His mercy is not seasonal. What He was then, He still is now.
And Romans 5:8 reminds us,
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
He didn’t wait for us to get it right. His love was already reaching toward us, even in our worst condition.
That’s what the prodigal son discovered. The father he left was still the father who loved him. The home he walked away from was still open to his return.
Why because he came home with a humbleness that God will never reject.
The compassion he doubted was still overflowing.
When someone decides to return to the Lord, they often expect to find disappointment, but instead, they find open arms.
Because some things will never change.
God’s love is one of them.
So if the road has been long, and the distance has felt great, remember this: the Father hasn’t moved. His love hasn’t weakened. And the moment you turn toward home, you’ll find He’s already looking for you to Return.
Tomorrow we will look at the fact that even though “Some Things Will Never Change”, some things will never be the same.
