In another parable, our Lord Jesus Christ
delineated God's mercy, thus:
And he said, "There was a man who had
two sons; and the younger of
them said to his father, 'Father, give
me the share of property that falls to
me.' And he divided his living between
them. Not many days later, the
younger son gathered all he had and took
his journey into a far country, and
there he squandered his property in
loose living. And when he
had spent everything, a great famine
arose in that country, and he began to
be in want. So he went and joined
himself to one of the citizens of that
country, who sent him into his fields to
feed swine. And he would gladly
have fed on the pods that the swine ate;
and no one gave him anything. . But when
he came to himself he said, 'How many of
my father's hired servants have bread
enough and to spare, but I perish here
with hunger! I will arise and go
to my father, and I will say to him,
"Father, I have sinned against heaven
and before you; I am no longer
worthy to be called your son; treat me
as one of your hired servants."'
And he arose and came to his father. But
while he was yet at a distance, his
father saw him and had compassion, and
ran and embraced him and kissed him.
And the son said to him, 'Father, I have
sinned against heaven and before you; I
am no longer worthy to be called your
son.' (Luke 15:11-21, RSV)
Our Lord Jesus Christ narrated how a
prodigal son, after squandering his
inheritance for nothing, found himself
devoid of everything. Driven by a
remorse and penitent heart, he once again
sought his rich father's pleasure. He
humbly admitted his guilt and prepared to
accept any punishment that would be meted
out on him. But, even before the
repentant son could speak, his father met
him with love and compassion.
What then did the
father do upon the return of his prodigal
son?
Our Lord Jesus Christ narrated further, In
Luke 15:22-24, this is written:
But the father said to his servants,
'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it
on him; and put a ring on his hand, and
shoes on his feet; and bring the
fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat
and make merry; for this my son
was dead, and is alive again; he was
lost, and is found.' And they began to
make merry. (RSV)
In the parable, those who have sinned are
the prodigal sons. God is the Father
who is rich in love and mercy. If we
would only humble ourselves before Him and
accept our wrongdoings, God will readily
embrace us back to His fold.