In Touch Devotional 21st February 2025 By Charles Stanley, Friday Message
TOPIC: A Powerful Love
SCRIPTURE: Luke 15:11-32
When we read about the Prodigal Son, our focus is usually on God’s amazing love, demonstrated by the father. We delight in knowing that He responds to us the same way when we stray from Him. But today, let’s look at the parable to see what it teaches about our responsibility to love others.
- Let go. The father had every right to refuse his second son’s foolish request, but he understood that the young man had already left home in his heart. There may be times when the most loving thing we can do is also the most difficult—to let a loved one go. When we try to control the outcome, we may actually get in God’s way.
- Wait. Once we’ve let go, we must then wait patiently for God to do His work in that person’s life. Did you notice the father didn’t go to search for his son? He chose to trust God instead of trying to fix the situation and prevent the inevitable hard consequences of the prodigal’s unwise behavior.
The only way you can respond like this is to have confidence in the Lord’s good plans (Psalms 56:3-4). He loves the other person more than you can know and understands the best way to reach him or her. Your job is to watch and pray until God brings the prodigal home.
Bible in One Year: Deuteronomy 1-2
Dr. Charles F. Stanley was the founder of In Touch Ministries and a New York Times best-selling author. Throughout his ministry, he demonstrated a keen awareness of people’s needs and provided Christ-centered biblically based principles for everyday life.