The young man took a long look at his life.

He was penniless, homeless, filthy, and starving.

You would never know that he had once lived under the loving care of his wealthy father.

But he had left home, cut off his relationship with his father, squandered his inheritance

on a life of sin, and ended up in this pitiful state.

He finally came to his senses, and a deep feeling welled up in him:

I need to go back to my father.

But he was so ashamed.

After all he had done, he wondered whether his father would even want him as a son anymore.

In desperation, he decided he would return home and ask to be a servant.

He was unaware of the depth of his father's love.

Little did he know that his father had been longing for him,

waiting and watching for the day he would return.

As the young man made his way home, his father spotted him,

even when he was still a long way off,

and ran to him, embraced him, and kissed him affectionately.

Filthy and ragged, the repentant young man confessed to his father his sinful life,

telling him that he was no longer worthy to be his son.

But his father responded by first clothing him with the best robe

and then sacrificing the fattened calf to feed him.

With rejoicing, he called for a feast for all to celebrate the return of his son,

whom he declared had been dead and now lived again,

who had been lost and was now found.

Like the son in this parable, each of us will eventually come to the realization

that we are lost and need to be found by God, our real Father.

We may feel too ashamed to come to God.

But the Bible reveals His unchanging and infinite love for us.

He longs for every prodigal to come back to Himself.

In God's eyes, to be lost is actually to be dead in sins,

and to be found is to be saved and made alive in Christ.

If we return to God and repent of our sins, we will be cleansed

and Christ will cover us like a robe of righteousness.

Not only so, like the fattened calf, Christ who was sacrificed for us

will also fill and satisfy us inwardly,

becoming a rich feast for us to enjoy as sons in the household of our Father God.

Our loving and forgiving Father is waiting for us to come to Him.

We can do this by praying this simple prayer:

"Dear Father, I'm lost and need to be found!

I am dead in my sins!

Come into my spirit and make me alive in Christ as a son of God!

Lord Jesus, thank You for dying for me so that You could cleanse me, cover me,

satisfy my hunger, and qualify me to feast with the Father in His house.

Amen."