A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.” So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.
But when he came to his senses, he said, “What am I doing here, working for slave wages and going hungry! I could return home and seek reconciliation with my father—but that would require me to humble myself, ask forgiveness, repent, and act responsibly in the future. Thank goodness I met a Christian yesterday who told me that my predicament is not my fault and that he would never judge me. And he offered me free room and board. I will go to that Christian, and I will say to him, “I have no food or place to stay, but I’m thankful that you are a true Christian, because you will never judge me, and you will give me free room and board.” And so he made his way to the home of that loving Christian, who welcomed him with open arms.
After several months, the Christian felt like he was being taken advantage of, and so he asked his guest to leave. Fortunately for the prodigal son, however, there was an unlimited supply of loving Christians, and so he never had to go home to his father.
