Luke 15:20-24
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

The stuff didn’t matter—the inheritance, the money, the waste of what he’d accumulated for his family. The dirt didn’t matter. The smell of the swine upon the son did not prevent an embrace from a grateful father. The amount of time didn’t matter. The son had been away living it up far from home, but now as the father embraces his long-lost son, perhaps it was like he’d never left. What the son had done with the money didn’t matter. His disrespect and disobedience didn’t matter.

Here is a father’s love and a father’s mercy overcoming all of that. His son repented. He had acknowledged his sin and come back home. He was his father’s son, and nothing that had happened in the interim could change that. And instead of punishment, instead of relegating him to the servants’ quarters, his father lavishes gifts upon him—a robe, a ring, shoes and a feast. The love of this father knows no bounds. His joy over his son is beyond compare. The value of his child to him is immeasurable.

This parable reveals many truths—the pricelessness of people to the Father, the great cause for celebration when the wandering return, the great depths of our Father’s love and mercy, His response to repentance, how much we matter to Him. Jesus is trying to explain what it means to Him and to heaven when the lost are found. There is this great joy in the Father’s heart to receive His children back where they belong. There is this abounding grace and this heart of compassion. Our past doesn’t matter. The specific sins don’t matter. The amount of time doesn’t matter or the distance we’ve gone. The simple fact is that God loves us deeply and He wants that relationship to be restored and He will gladly embrace us and welcome us home.