Prosperity

One of my all time favorite parables is that of the prodigal son. You remember the story of the wealthy man whose son asked for his inheritance from his father, and then the young man took this money and spent it all on riotous living and returned broken, forlorn, and penniless to his father’s home. You can read about this in Luke.

There are many reasons why this is a favorite of mine, but just a couple I want to mention follow:

• At the beginning of the chapter the Pharisees and scribes ridicule the Savior because He was receiving sinners unto Himself and eating with them. So the Lord spake a parable to them about the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-6) Then He explained to them the real meaning “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”
• But not wanting them to misunderstand, He shared the parable of the lost coin to make His point. (Luke 15:8-9) Again He emphasized “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”
• Alas, to reiterate His point, He then finished with the parable of the prodigal son. This boy willfully rebelled. He was forewarned but did not heed the cautions and everything happened just as he was warned—but he was still forgiven and though he felt unworthy to return to his home, the father received him in joy and placed his finest robe on his son and killed the fatted calf to celebrate his return. “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”

Perhaps, that’s my favorite part because each one of us is that misguided boy. We have all made mistakes and are unworthy of the blessings in store for us, but we don’t receive these blessings because we deserve them. We receive them because our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us despite our shortcomings. That’s what it means to be saved by grace.

The Lord suffered for our infirmities that we might be healed and reunited as families with Him. That's the really good news we have as we face obstacles in our day. He understands us and has compassion for us.

And we will be rewarded, too, because He loves and supports us amid our challenges and has overcome every barrier to our return through the good news of Jesus Christ.

That is really good news.