WHAT WOULD YOU do if you had all the money you ever wanted? Would you travel the world? Buy a mansion? Get a new car? All the above?

The story is told of a father whose son didn’t want to wait for Dad to pass on to get his inheritance. He wanted it now. So, the father obliged. The young man then traveled to a faraway country and bought anything that caught his fancy. Before long, he’d spent all his money.

Then life got worse. The young man’s new home country hit an economic downturn. Bare grocery store shelves were common. But that didn’t matter—he had no money to buy food anyway. He sank so low he thought about going through the garbage to find something to eat.

Then the young man came to himself. He thought about his father’s employees. Even his gardeners lived better than he was living. He thought, “I’ll just go home. I’ll ask Dad to forgive me and give me a job.”

Meanwhile, the young man’s father was concerned about his son. He’d never heard from him after he left. Day after day, he stood gazing out his front window, hoping he’d return.

One day the father saw a familiar figure approaching on the road. It was his son! He ran out with open arms to welcome him home.

The young man tried to give his father the apology he’d planned—his voice muffled by the older man’s coat as he hugged him. But the father didn’t hear a word. He was too focused on getting his son into the house to clean up and put on fresh, new clothes. While the young man washed and changed, the father told his staff not to waste any time putting together a lavish homecoming party. “My son is home!” he joyfully exclaimed.

God wants each of us to be His child. And just like the father in this story, He is waiting for each of us to come home. When we do, He will forgive us of anything. Jesus made that possible when He died on the cross.

Romans 5:8 (NLT) says, “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

Your Heavenly Father is waiting for you. He wants to welcome you home. If your heart is nudging you in that direction, pray this prayer:

Dear God,

I need You. I want You in my life. I admit that I am not right with You, and I want to be right with You. I want You to be my Father. Please forgive me for my sins. I believe that You sent Jesus to die for me, and You raised Him back to life for my sake. I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me! I’m so glad I’m now Your child!

If you have prayed this prayer for the first time, welcome home! We are glad you’re in the family! Email us at [email protected] and let us know about it. We want to send you some free materials to get you started in your new life as God’s child.