This is a true story I once witnessed in court. A young man was on the stand charged with robbery and holding back his tears. The case really touched my heart as a mother of three sons, because his parents were in the room listening to the charges against their son. 

My heart sank as I saw his parents’ faces, which told me that they loved him very much despite his crime, which was very serious in the law’s eyes. Not to mention, he had admitted to committing the offence.  

During the appeal proceedings, the judge asked the parents to stand. The father said while crying, “I beg that our son’s sentence be reduced. It’s my fault for not teaching and raising him well. From now on, we will educate him better.” 

As the court reporter transcribing every word, I tried to hold back my own emotions. I felt that this man was indeed a loving and forgiving father; accepting his son despite his actions. The young man in his early 20s then expressed regret but his voice was choked. In that moment, I understood how the son felt; he had hurt his parents deeply, yet he was accepted unconditionally. 

This case reminds me of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32. The younger son had squandered his father’s money, yet when he came to his senses and returned home, he was not rebuked but accepted with loving arms. His father told the older son, “Let us hold a feast and rejoice, for your brother was dead, but is alive again; he was lost, but is found again.” (v.32) 

If there’s a “prodigal son” in your family, know that once upon a time, we too were “prodigal sons” still in the power of sin. We were focused only on ourselves and things of the world. But the One whom we call Father has never stopped loving us nor seeking us out. He is ready to accept us when we repent, and to cleanse us from all sin and wickedness. 

So let us go to God and confess our sins, followed by repentance. Now that we’ve received His unconditional love, may we model the same and accept the “prodigal sons” back into our families with open arms.