John 6:37, English Standard Version

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out"

Recall the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15: 11-32:

The story begins with a man who has two sons. The younger son asks his father for his portion of the family estate as an early inheritance. Once received, the son promptly sets off on a long journey and begins to waste his fortune on wild living.

The young man finally comes to his senses, remembering his father. In humility, he recognizes his foolishness and decides to return to his father and ask for forgiveness and mercy. The father who has been watching and waiting, receives his son back with open arms of compassion. He is overjoyed by the return of his lost son.

The father is a picture of our Heavenly Father. The heavenly Father loves lost sinners, and His love restores them to right relationship with God. In fact, heaven is filled with lost sinners who have come home.

God waits patiently, with loving compassion to restore us when we return to Him with humble hearts. He offers us everything in His kingdom, restoring a full relationship with joyful celebration. He doesn't dwell on our past mistakes.

The Bible makes it clear that God loves us with an everlasting love, and He stands ready to forgive anyone who sincerely turns to Christ in repentance and faith. The Bible says, “…He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, NIV). One of the two criminals who was crucified with Jesus turned to Him in faith, and although he was only hours from death, it wasn’t too late for him to be saved (see Luke 23:40-43). 

Christ is truly amazing! Think of this, you don’t have to earn His love. In fact, no one can earn God’s love. He just looks at you and wants to do whatever is best for you. He will never desert you and leave you in sin. He will reach out to you and help you. Christ will give you the grace and the desire to live your life the right way. To sum it all up, you will be rescued! Even if you see yourself as a bad person—you are not. Everything God made is good, and you are made in the image and likeness of God. You are so valuable and important to God that He made sure you lived. And even if you have made a mess of the plans that God had in mind for you, He offers you a new plan, a new opportunity. Why all these chances? Because He wants to save you. But somewhere along the journey, you have to say yes to God and His purpose for you. You can't let self-condemnation, guilt, or shame hold you back.

Remember, Christ’s mercy is greater than all the sins of everyone here on earth. He will help you to get away from the occasion of sin and all that leads you to it.

It’s never too late to return to God. It’s never too late to return to a faithful and honorable life. Guilt doesn’t have to win. Christ made sure of that! When you see these things happening, know that He is near. Know that God is here! His Son died for you, and He continues to do everything He can to save you.

Returning to God after messing up— no matter how long you have been gone or how far you wandered — is easier than you could ever imagine. In fact, it’s harder to keep avoiding God than to simply return to Him and accept His love.

Don’t delay coming to Christ if you had messed up. Satan whispers “some other time”—but the Bible says, “…now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation...” (2 Corinthians 6:2, NIV). Receive it and live the abundant life God has for you!