“The younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.”
Luke 15:13
Jesus told a wonderful story about repentance: A son takes his inheritance, goes into a distant country, and wastes everything he has on riotous living. But eventually the bottom falls out of his life, and he ends up scratching out a living on a pig farm. Then he comes to his senses, and says, “I will arise and go to my father” (15:18).
So he begins the long journey home. When he sees the house on the horizon, he notices someone running toward him. It is his father, who has been watching every day, longing for the boy’s return. The father hugs and kisses him, and he places a robe on his back and a ring on his finger. He calls his servants to kill the fattened calf and orders a celebration. Why? Because of his joy.
If there’s joy in it for the father, there must be joy in it for the son. He may feel unworthy. He may feel embarrassed, but think about the change in his life. A short time ago he was eating with the pigs, now he is feasting on a calf! Repentance is the hidden path to a transformed life.
That’s good news! Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the good news of God. What is the good news? “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mat. 3:2). Repentance is good news! Real, lasting change is possible because God has come near to you in Jesus Christ.
When was the last time you experienced joy and repentance together?
