God’s Way Home

As I drove down the steep ramp into the parking lot, anxiety swept over me. I’d been in this exact place before—and I’d gotten lost that time. But now, as I began to walk to the door near the elevator, a calm feeling filled my heart. I knew the way! I walked through the door and found the set of elevators I was seeking and soon was where I was supposed to be.

My experience in finding my way through the maze of that parking structure reminds me that getting lost can sometimes help us find our way. Because I had gotten lost during my first visit, I recalled what had gone wrong and remembered the door that led to my destination.

There’s great joy in finding our way—something the “lost son” in today’s parable found to be true (Luke 15:24). “When he finally came to his senses” (v. 17 nlt), the wayward young man knew his way back home after having been lost in the world. He recognized all he had left behind and returned home where he received his father’s “love and compassion” (v. 20 nlt). The story says the father was overjoyed to receive his lost son and welcome him back, saying, “This son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found” (v. 24 nlt).

If we’re lost spiritually, let’s look for the familiar way home God has provided. He points us toward His loving light and to where we’re supposed to be.

How has God shown you where you’re supposed to be? How can you run after His light?

In Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables about something lost—a lost sheep (vv. 1-7), a coin (vv. 8-10), and a son (vv. 11-32). All of us can relate to looking for something valuable that we’ve lost. But the parable of the lost son would’ve been harder for Christ’s audience to understand. A son requesting his inheritance while his father was still living and a father running to welcome him would have disregarded the cultural norms of that time. That’s just the point. God, like the father in the story, is waiting to do the unexpected—to welcome His lost children home.