In the parable of the prodigal son, the younger son received and then squandered his portion of the inheritance. He was reduced to feeding swine (considered by the Jews to be unclean animals), and "would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate" (Lk 15:16), for no one gave him anything to eat.But when he came to himself, he said, "How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father." (Lk 15:17-18) He realized he had wronged his father, and was no longer worthy to be called his son. Therefore, he only wished to become like one of the hired servants (Lk 15:19).
The younger son could easily be one of us. How truly unworthy we are to be called children of God. God has prepared for us and given to us so much, yet we enjoy carefree lives, without thinking of Him. Sometimes, we do not see our wrongs until tremendous hardships occur. We realize that we belong in the Father’s house, but do not dare to imagine ourselves to be His children. We can only hope to be like one of the hired servants, to serve God, to repay Him for His mercy. But God is ready to give us much more—He sees us when we are still a great way off, and runs to welcome us, to grant us status as His children even though we do not deserve it.
Too often we fail to think of the consequences of our actions. Maybe we think that no harm will be done. But whether anyone is hurt or not, our wrongdoings are sins against our Father in heaven. He is the one we hurt most, because we do not love and obey Him as we should. Out of His great love, God has called us to be His children. To repay His love, we must obey His commandments and serve Him wholeheartedly.
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