Prodigal Confessions: 10 Principles that Lead Us Back to the Father

The parable of the Prodigal Son is a gospel story: in it we see the fall, repentance, redemption, and reconciliation. Many of us have heard this parable our whole lives. Often the prodigal story is portrayed as one that pictures the process of Christian salvation…and this is true. It is also true that believers, though adopted into God’s family, are prone to wander into a spiritual pigsty, time and time again. We can find ourselves, much like the sons in the story, squandering relationship with our Heavenly Father and feeling a loss of peace with Him. Thankfully, the path back to the Father via repentance is a short one and can be taken an infinite number of times. This book explores how Christians–given so much hope, love, and grace–continue to struggle with sin. Like the gospel story, each prodigal’s story is filled with hope and grace. God is purposeful. Our struggles are part of the process of leaving behind old ways and learning new ones; it is a process that we cannot fast forward through…this is our refining, our sanctification. God uses our messy stories for the display of his inexplicable glory: to demonstrate his power over sin, his wisdom in ordaining life’s events, and his unfailing goodness toward us. The parable of the Prodigal Son is demonstrates the Father’s faithful, generous character. Our lives are meant to reflect the same truths. Prodigal means extravagant. In our struggles, we can be extravagantly wasteful of God’s gift to us of relationship with Him. But the hope of the Christian life is that He doesn’t let us stay there. His compassion is active. He meets us on our way back to Him. As we learn more and more how to walk in obedience, we are able to share His extravagant love with others.