Forgiveness

Hi! Today I decided to post about something that is very important.
Have you ever felt that God won't accept you after you sin? Do you ever feel that since you sinned, God won't love you anymore? In the Bible, Jesus answers this question.

In Luke 15:11, Jesus tells his disciples the Parable of the Lost Son. I will sum up the parable for you.
There was a man who was the father of two sons. His younger son asked for his share of his father's estate, so his father divided the money. The younger son left his father and went to a distant country where he foolishly wasted all of his money. Soon after, a famine came and he was very hungry, so he found a job, and when he went to feed the pigs, he wanted to eat their food. He then realized that his father's servants were fed more than he was now, so he decided to return to his father, ask for forgiveness, and ask his father to make him one of his servants. The son then journeyed home. When he arrived home, the son's father saw him in the distance and ran to his son and kissed him. The son then said he was not worthy, for he had sinned. Instead, his father called the servants to bring his best robes and lay them on him, and to kill the fattened calf to celebrate the return of his son.

As you can see, even though the youngest son sinned against his father, his father came running to him (which was considered ignoble in those days), and welcomed him home with a great celebration. Jesus gave us this parable to show that no matter what sin we have committed, if we confess our sins to God and return to him, he will welcome us with open arms. This doesn't mean that we can sin all we want though. Sin is sin and it is wrong. The only reason that God can forgive us is through his Son who took our punishment and died for us.

My dogs also remind me of this topic. My family owns two dogs, Rascal, the family dog, and PJ, who belongs to me. Every time we return home from our destination, they go crazy as they welcome us home. Even if I quick run over to the neighbor's for only a minute, the dogs still make a big deal welcoming me home. God is like that. Whenever we walk away from Him and then return and ask for forgiveness, he will welcome us with open arms.
-Marissa :)