Jesus told a story as an illustration of God the Father’s love for a prodigal son:
Luke 15:11-16 (paraphrased)
  A man had two sons and the younger son asked for his inheritance.  (The father did not try to argue with him or try to persuade him to change his mind.)  After the son received his inheritance he packed up and left for a “distant country”.  There he lived well, doing those things which wasted his money…those things which were fun for the moment, without a thought for tomorrow, leaving him without a coin to his name.
  A famine occurred; times were hard for everyone, he was without money and friends; he was alone in a “distant country”.

   He did what he had to do, find a job and what a job he found, a Jewish man feeding hogs!
  He was so hungry that he would gladly have eaten the pods he was feeding those hogs, but that kind of food would not have satisfied the needs of a hungry man.  He was that hungry…he was that broke…he was that bereft.

   The younger son had left home…to enjoy life (and he had as long as his inheritance held out).  He had “lived high on the hog” until he was feeding the hogs to exist.

   Do you feel sorry for this younger son?
If yes – he had no money, no friends, no food, he was destitute. 
If no – he deserved what he had to live with from his own actions; he had left a good home, a loving father; he had spent his full inheritance; he could sink no lower…he had reached the bottom.

  What conclusion did he come to as he was feeding those hogs? 
  To be continued tomorrow…

  Have you turned from God the Father, the living God of the Bible? 
  Do you relate to this younger son? 
  What conclusions have you come to?  Read the rest of the story (Luke 15:17-24)  [God the Father loves you…no matter what you have done or are doing…but you do need to recognize your sin(s) and not apologize to God but to repent and ask His forgiveness.]

  Perhaps you have a son or a daughter who has left…how do you think of them? 
  Do you think of them with love or with vindictiveness?  (Tomorrow we will learn how God the Father responds to those who come to Him.)

  Followers of Christ are to reach out to those who are without the living God in their lives…have you received another with open arms and love when they have turned back to you and God?