“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.” – Luke 15:20 NLT
Have you ever felt like you messed up so bad God would never forgive you? Have you ever wondered if you had gotten so far away from the Lord that your only option was to keep running? Cochren & Co.’s single, “Running Home,” captures how guilt and shame can mess with your head and get you focused on something other than the hope that Jesus wants to speak to your heart.
He called my name
And He stole my shame
Everything changed when I came running home
Out of the dark, into His arms
No more running away, I’m running home
In Luke 15:11-32, Jesus tells a parable about a son who asks his father for his inheritance early, takes it, and runs to a distant land. There, the son spends his inheritance on wild living. One day, after wasting everything he’d been given by his father and being forced to eat the same food as the pigs he’s looking after, he comes to his senses and heads home to beg his father to hire him as a servant.
Luke 15:20 says, “And while he [the son] was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.”
The father then throws a big feast to celebrate the son’s return and welcomes him home, not as a servant, but as a beloved son. Jesus told this parable to illustrate that no matter how far we’ve run from our Heavenly Father, He is waiting to welcome us home with open arms.
Are you in a place today where you feel you’ve sinned so badly there’s no going back? Are you scared that what you’ve done is unforgivable? No matter what you’ve done or what’s been done to you, God wants you to stop running from Him and run toward Him, so He can shower His forgiveness on you just as the father in the parable did for his son.
God hasn’t “run out” of mercy for you like a car with the empty light flashing on the dashboard. Lamentations 3:23 says, “Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.” Your sin is great, but God’s grace is far greater.
If you find yourself far from the Lord today, it’s time to stop running from Him and run home to Him. Set your pride and sin down. Say no to your sin and yes to your Savior. Get back in His Word and let His Word get back into you.
Plug back into a local church. Find good people there who can be the hands and feet of Jesus to you. Look into getting the help you need, whether it’s through counseling, a support group, or something else, so you can break free from the hold sin has in your life. Allow your Heavenly Father to welcome you home so you can experience the joy of your salvation once again. (Psalm 51:12)
In an interview given around the time of the release of “Running Home,” lead singer Michael Cochren said, “We’ve all heard the saying, ‘There’s no place like home,’ When I think of what “home” means, I think of comfort, rest, safety, and love. When we look for these things in the broken world, we will never find them. Ultimately, we only find what we need when we return to our loving God.” If you’re running from God, run to Him instead so He can meet the needs in your life that only He can meet.
Dig Deeper
1. Where in your life are you struggling to receive God’s grace and forgiveness in your life?
2. Read the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32. What about the father’s response resonates with you?
3. Make a list of sins that are weighing you down. One by one, ask the Lord to forgive you for each item you wrote. Then, write the word FORGIVEN in big red letters over that list, tear it up, and dispose of it to release your burdens to your Heavenly Father.
