Sinned
“I have sinned” (Luke 15:18,21).
These words were spoken by the young man we often refer to as the Prodigal Son. He first spoke them in his heart while in the pigpen feeding the pigs and trying to satisfy his own hunger with the pig food. He then spoke them to his father, as he returned home to meet his father running to greet him and welcome him back. To be back in the father’s presence and the father’s house, it was necessary that the son come to the realization that he was a sinner. There could be no kiss, no robe or ring, no shoes or fatted calf, no music and dancing, and no communion and fellowship with the Father, until there was true repentance.
So it is with every person who receives God’s salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ and the work of Calvary. There must be the realization that we are helpless, guilty sinners, deserving nothing but judgment and hell. The way of blessing is through “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Then, and only then, can grace meet us in our need, and bring us into the joy of all that God the Father has provided for us.
