Come To Your Senses!

But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired laborers have more than enough bread, but I am dying here from hunger!  I will set out and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired laborers.”’

– Luke 15:17-19

I NEED MY DAD! A changed heart cannot be controlled by changed behavior; a person has to come to their senses before they can decide to come back to their Heavenly Father. Many people have been hurt by well-meaning Christians to bring people to Christ. Jesus tells us that sometimes a person needs to come to the end of their rope so they can realize their need for God.

The son had forgotten who he was, it got to the point where he could not stand it anymore, he wanted whatever scraps his father had to offer. He had a plan, and that plan was to be reconciled through servitude, he thought, if I just serve my father I can be accepted. His loss of identity made him think he had to earn his acceptance. He self-identifies as a servant because that is where his current situation had led him, as a servant feeding pigs. Nothing could have been further from the truth, he never stopped being a son, he just failed to identify as one.