March 28, 2026
Jesus tells of a father who welcomes his lost son home with compassion and joy, saying that the son was dead and is alive again, lost and is found.
Devotional: Sometimes coming out is not dramatic. Sometimes it looks like turning toward home. The younger son in Jesus’ story has wasted what was given to him, worn himself down, and ended up in a place he never imagined for himself. By the time he starts home, he is not making a triumphant return. He is just hoping for mercy.
That is one reason this story matters so much. The father sees him while he is still a long way off and runs to him. He does not wait with folded arms. He does not begin with a lecture. He meets him with compassion. Then he says something that sounds like resurrection language, “This son of mine was dead and is alive again.”
There are ways people live that are not really living. Shame does that. Sin does that. Estrangement does that. So does the lie that says you have gone too far to come back. But Jesus tells this story so no one can mistake the heart of the Father. The way back home is still open.
Lent is a season of return. Not because God is reluctant, but because He is ready. Coming out sometimes means coming home.
Action: Take one step today toward the place where you most need to return to God.
Prayer: Father, thank You that You do not meet repentance with coldness. You meet it with mercy. When shame tells me I have gone too far, remind me of Your welcome. Draw me home from every place I have wandered. Help me believe that Your grace is still greater than my failures. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Thought for the Day: Coming out may begin with coming home.
In Luke 15, Jesus tells of a son who returns home hoping only for mercy and finds himself met with compassion. “Dead and alive again” is resurrection language, and it reminds us that grace still welcomes people home.
