Daily Bible Reading 9th 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.
The theological teaching that lies behind the words 'he came to himself' is this: In the beginning, God said, Let us make man in our own image and after our likeness… The image of God in man means two things: on the one hand, it is that which characterises man as human, as distinct from the rest of creation. Man is a responsible being - he is capable of making a response to God; and this is in no wise changed by his sin. Even when he makes the wrong response - when he says 'No' instead of 'Yes' to God - he still is, and remains, a responsible being. This aspect of the image of God is never lost, even in the tragedy of the Fall. But on the other hand, the image of God 'consists in that man, as a spiritual and moral being, gives expression in a creaturely way to the inward characteristics of God'. And this was lost in the Fall. Man's original righteousness is now no more. Furthermore, man was made for communion with God - and this not as an option which he may or may not exercise, but as part of the basic structure of his being. Since, then, man is thus created for God, it means that he cannot be himself by himself, but only in relation to, and in communion with, God. Man is himself only as and when he says 'Yes' to God. But the tragedy is that man loses by his sin all ability of will to say 'Yes' to God. He is no longer free to realise his divine destiny, to be himself. By asserting his determination for freedom and independence, man lost both. This is what is illustrated in the story of the prodigal. The boy was involved in a 'crisis of identity'. He was trying to find himself; that is why he went off to the far country; but in fact he did the opposite; he lost himself. And therefore had to 'come to himself' again.