◄ Ex-prodigals ►

Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy" (Lk. 15:21a).

From prodigals, our Father has made us possessors. "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light" (Col. 1:12).

"If I, once a lost prodigal, want to know the measure of my acceptance with the Father, He alone defines it for me. It is only as I know what the Lord Jesus is to the Father in glory that I can in any degree truly estimate my own acceptance in Him: Had He my sins laid on Him? How is He now accepted? For as He is now accepted, so am l; and therefore it is the Gospel of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Try for your own acceptance, and it will always be a dubious and imperfect thing. Get to understand His acceptance, and your soul will be enlarged into all the fulness and blessedness not only of His, but of your own, because you are in Him.'" -J.B.S.

"Many are looking to find some good in themselves, and in most cases without being conscious that they are doing so. Effort, disappointment, self-reproaches, and self-occupation, make up the weary round of their lives, with now and then, perhaps, a gleam of spiritual happiness. No man's heart will ever be gladdened by the joy of divine acceptance until he has learned that there is not a single bit about him, as a man in the flesh, that does not deserve the judgment of God." -C.A.C.

"It is a wonderful moment when by faith we appropriate and occupy our position in the favor of the Father - when we know that we are received by Him in all the acceptance of His Son. We do not then think of ourselves, or our unworthiness, at all. We think of the Lord Jesus - His perfections, His suitability to divine favor, His infinite acceptance with the Father - and by faith we have access into the favor of which He is so worthy." -C.A.C.

"But the Father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe" (Lk. 15:22a).