A FATHER’S LOVE COMPELLED HIM
On December 5, Otoniel Gomez of Santa Ana, California, was awakened by his wife at 1:30 a.m. She smelled smoke, and when Gomez went to the door of their upstairs bedroom, heat and smoke proved that their house was on fire. They couldn’t get out that way, nor could they alert the others in the house. Gomez went out the window, jumped down to the patio cover, and dropped the final nine feet to the ground. He used a ladder to help his wife escape, then moved the ladder to other windows to begin trying to rescue the others. He pounded on the window of his 11-year-old son, who was fast asleep, finally rousing him. In all, Gomez saved four other people, everyone in the house—along with their chihuahua, Lyka—before firefighters arrived. “To me,” Gomez later said, “it’s the family [that matters]. We are alive…. The rest of it is replaceable.”

A FATHER’S COMPASSION COMPELLED HIM
Today’s lesson looks at the prodigal son parable from Luke 15 and the results of Peter’s sermon in Acts 2. In the parable, a son dishonors his father, squanders his inheritance, and falls on hard times. At his low point, he feels inspired to return to his father. The father, who has clearly been waiting for the return of his son, acts as if the son’s actions have not damaged their relationship. He throws a party in the son’s honor. In Acts 2, after Jesus’ ascension to heaven, Peter and the disciples welcome crowds of converts; and heaven celebrates those coming home to God in faith.

Questions

• How do you think Mr. Gomez’s family feels about his response to the fire?
• When have you felt like the prodigal son?
• How can you invite someone to come home to God?