Lent Day 1 The Journey Home

Reading

“When the prodigal son came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”

Reflection

“We all love this passage, don’t we? In our minds, we see the father running towards the repentant son. It feels so welcoming and so loving in such an unconditional way. Who doesn’t want that? But look closer at the passage. We read that after coming to his senses, it is the son who ’got up and went to his father’ a first-step action on the part of the son which precedes the fathers ultimate loving embrace. Where in your life do you need to come to your senses and take that first step back towards your Father? Lent is a good time to take those steps and start that journey home – and then before you know it, your Father will be running towards you to welcome you with open arms. All it takes is that first step.”

Spiritual Exercise

“Your to-do for today: Look at a map and mentally trace a path of the places you have been in your life. For each location, ask yourself if you got closer to God while you were there or farther away. Then pray: ‘God I am coming home to you. Please guide my path to your open arms.”

Need a clickable globe to get you started on memory lane? Click here for geoloy.com world map

Music

Have a listen to these great songs as you think about today’s reflection:

One Classic: Great is thy faithfulness

One Modern: Walking Free

Playlist: Spotify Play List God’s Faithfulness & Our Hope (A Spotify account required to listen)

Digging Deeper

Want to spend a little time digging into this series? Here is an article you may enjoy from Christianity Today, all about “God’s generous return policy”.