Daily Bible Reading 8th November 2026 // Luke 15:11-24
11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
Consider three things the parable underlines about the prodigal: he wanted away from home; he wanted away from home because he wanted to be independent; he wanted to be independent because he was essentially self-centred. These are the authentic notes that ring out in the Garden of Eden story also. The satanic temptation to Adam and Eve was to throw off the spirit of dependence on God, and become independent of Him. It was the incitement to 'go it alone', without God, in independent existence - and to this is, of course, linked the becoming 'self-centred' instead of 'God centred', and therefore getting away and being away from God. But this involves something else, inevitably. Sin has a great blinding power. The work of Satan was a work of deception, and the truth about this boy is that his heart was deluded by the god of this world into believing that life for him - 'life with a capital 'L'' - lay in throwing off the yoke of home, family, father - especially father - and going off to 'do his own thing'. This is the tragedy about sin: it deceives and blinds. Not only is a sinner a stranger to grace - he is also a stranger to himself. And so he must 'come to himself'. That is the first and greatest need. For until he comes to himself, he cannot and will not come to the Father. In the story of the prodigal, everything in his renewal and rehabilitation began when 'he came to himself'. It was then that he began to see clearly and think clearly, to see in perspective. It was not that his situation had changed; it was not that the situation at home had changed, either. The change was in him. This is so important a consideration that we must spend time in tomorrow's Note thinking further about it.