Prodigal Son

Jesus said, “A certain man had two sons. The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the inheritance.’ Then the father divided his estate between them. Soon afterward, the younger son gathered everything together and took a trip to a land far away. There, he wasted his wealth through extravagant living Luke 15:11-32

In the book by Christina Hergenrader “Family Trees & Olive Branches” I was touched by her words:

Because of our pride, we freeze one another out and

ignore God’s commands and examples of how to

show grace to one another. On our own we can

never extend an olive branch of mercy to our siblings

or parents.

We would rather live isolated and angry than risk a real,

dynamic changing relationship that’s greased with grace.

So, many of us live like this forever—never joining the party

God throws for us. Never forgiving our reckless siblings.

Never feeling fully forgiven.

I am sure you can think of an instance in your family where people hesitate to join an event when certain family members are there. Sometimes it is the political environment of today and sometimes it is something childish that happened many years ago. We need the Lord to show us how to give grace.

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, we need you. Oh, how we need you. You showed us the ultimate grace by having your son, Jesus, suffer for our sins. The father in the Prodigal Son story showed the same grace to an undeserving son. Now help us show grace to those who need our grace. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck