Sep 15, 2026 · 5 min read
The Prodigal Son: A Family Devotion About Coming Home
**The younger son asks for his inheritance early, which in that culture was close to saying he wished his father dead.** The father gives it to him anyway. That is the first shock of the story, and it happens in verse 12.
The father runs
An older man in that world did not run; it was undignified. He runs while his son is still a long way off, before a word of the prepared apology is spoken. Whatever the son had rehearsed on the road, he barely gets to use it.
The brother in the field
Half the parable is about the son who stayed. He is furious, and the father goes out to him too. Families with more than one child should read this half slowly — it is often the more familiar one.
For the table
The story ends with the older brother still standing outside, decision unmade. Ask whether he goes in. There is no right answer, which is exactly why it is a good question at dinner.
Tonight's five minutes
**Read:** Luke 15:11-32, out loud, twice. **Ask:** Which brother do you feel like this week — the one who left, or the one who stayed? **Pray:** Father, thank you that you come out to meet both of your children. Meet us tonight. Amen.
If you'd rather not choose the passage yourself, tonight's family devotion is already written for this evening — one passage, one table question and a 30-second prayer, refreshed every day. You can also have it emailed to you each evening so it arrives before dinner.