For my 20th birthday, my family took me to the Stained Glass Museum in Ely. Out of all the stained glass, one panel caught my eye. It was very plain and simple. It was the parable of The Prodigal Son. He was asking for his inheritance, wasting it, living with pigs, returning home to his Father,... then his brother, who wasn't very happy and finally the fatted calf... who wasn't very happy either! Even in a stained glass window, Gods word does not return void.

The parable of the Prodigal Son, can be found in Luke 15:11-32. It's a parable of Gods love for us. When the Prodigal son asked for his inheritance, he was saying to His Father, "You are dead to me." How heartbreaking is that? The truth is, before we are saved, we live a life that says to God "You are dead to me" whether we know it, or not. I looked up the Greek for "Prodigal," and was surprised to find that it means indifferent to moral restraints or given to immoral or improper conduct. Prodigal living isn't just back sliding, it's walking in the flesh.

The money ran out, severe famine was in the land and the prodigal son began to want. He had a need.
We can all relate in one form or another. We've all experienced that want or need deep in our soul. So hungry and thirsty for the truth. Anything other than God, will leave us wanting. "And Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.' John 6:35.

In verse 20, the Father sees his son coming from a far distance, and runs to met him. Our Heavenly Father is always watching out for us and will always run out to meet us. That's fervent, unconditional, immeasureable love. Not only does God forgive us, He will throw us a Holy "welcome home" party!

God proclaims, "For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." John 15:24
Who are you? The one saying to God "You are dead to me" or the son who asked for forgiveness? You are one or the other. There's no gray area. Jesus said... "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6
The only way "Home" to the Father is through Jesus, His Son. We can't get to heaven through good works. We have to come to Him and seek forgiveness, just like the prodigal son. And I promise, your Father is waiting for your safe return "Home." So I encourage you to run to Him!

With stained glass, the artist selects each piece of broken glass for a reason. It's color, or texture, it's vibrance or dullness. The artist takes into account the design, nature and structure available for his own specific piece of work. The Master artist selects us for the same reasons. He takes the stained, broken, shards of our lives and turns them into a panel for His Glory. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10.

Please pray for the prodigal Sons and daughters in Kings Lynn, and in England as a whole.
Pray for their safe return "Home." Thank you for reading and God Bless You. ~Madi