The parable of the prodigal son is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. It is personally one of my favorites, moving me spiritually every time I read it. The parable being told is the ultimate example of God’s unconditional love for all His children, even when we chose freely to turn away from Him. I am fortunate to be able to attend a Christian university where students are constantly praying with and for each other while also building them up as they continue with their walk with God. This past semester has given me the opportunity to reflect on my relationship with God and how I can improve in that relationship. As the year comes to a close and Christmas season in full swing, I found it important to take time out of my day to reflect on God’s genuine and unconditional love for His people.

One of the most terrifying things for a parent is to lose their child. Whether it is a place as small as the grocery store or as large as Disneyland, it is undoubtedly a stomach-churning experience. Now imagine a parent whose child intentionally left them to go live what they thought would be a more enjoyable life. I think the latter would certainly hurt more. That is exactly what the younger child did in the parable of the prodigal son. The son asks his father for the inheritance and goes to a faraway land and spends all his money. Homeless, hungry, and penniless he resorts to tending swine at a local farm during a great famine. In this time of distress, he thinks of all the people who are better off than he is; his father’s servants at the estate and even the swine he is feeding. The younger son decides to return home, embarrassed of his current state.

The son in the first half of the parable represents us as humans and our relationship with God. God gave us life and has given us free will to stay with Him and follow Him. Every person has gone through a time where they intentionally turn away from God and become like the younger son. We take God’s gifts for granted and turn to a life full of material items that we think brings happiness to our lives. It is not until we feel empty inside and false happiness that we chose to turn back to God and follow Him. The father clearly represents God who lets us freely choose to follow him and stands watch every day waiting to welcome us with open arms. The older brother in this story also teaches us a lesson. Just because we follow Christ, this does not entitle us perks or credits to be rewarded. In some ways, the older brother in this parable can come off as more selfish than the prodigal son. We may have the tendency to judge him more harshly than his younger brother.

Christmas is a perfect time to recognize God's unconditional love. We are the handiwork of God and everything good comes through Him; yet we constantly choose to be like the prodigal son and turn away from Him. But God, being all powerful and merciful, sent His son to earth to guide us on how to live a holy life and eventually spend eternity with Him in Heaven; and that is why we celebrate Christmas. We celebrate the holiday not only to recognize God's promise to us, but to also help us recognize that we all need Christ in our lives to help us grow close to God.

As we continue our journey in faith, I challenge you to reflect on your life and find times when you were like the younger son and turned away from God. Did you choose to follow Him again? Why? If you have not yet turned back to God – don’t worry – just remember God is always waiting for our return just like the father in the parable.