If you were to take a survey about your life, how would you rate it: Poor, Fair, Good, or Great? Sometimes it’s hard not to wonder if we could do better. The story of the prodigal son is all about one person’s decision to leave home and do things his way because he believed he could do better on his own than in the safety and protection of his father’s house. And it’s a picture of how merciful God is to us; even when we decide to stray far from Him, He’s always watching and waiting with open arms to welcome us home.

Ever find yourself wrestling with God? If you want to save yourself a lot of time and energy, here’s a tip: you’ll never win that match-up! Too often we stand in our own way by disobeying God and what He’s calling us to do, when He’s waiting all along for us to surrender to His will. When we submit to His authority, He gives us His power to do things we could never accomplish on our own.

Some of us had dads who seemed like superheroes in our eyes. Some of us never even had a father figure to call our own. But the good news is this: when it comes to God’s love for us, we’re all on level ground once we’ve been born again. We all have a spiritual Father who cares for us, leads us, and provides for our every need. God is a Father to the fatherless — and as Christians, our job is to model and extend His fatherly love toward others.

Romans 8:17 declares that as followers of Christ, we’re given the privilege of joining Him in becoming heirs of God! We get to call Him our Daddy. And not only do we inherit a Heavenly Father, but when our time here on earth is finished, we’re called home to be with Him for all eternity.

There’s a big difference between someone who’s a father, and someone who fathers. God doesn’t just want to adopt us into His family and then leave us to our own devices — He wants an ongoing, ever-growing, father/child relationship with us! Jesus tells us in Scripture that when we ask our Father for all that we need, He’s faithful to provide for us. Let’s never forget to thank Him for the gifts He gives us out of fatherly love!