When Someone You Love Is Far From God

If you love someone who is far from God, you know what it’s like to carry compassion, heartache, and hope all at the same time.

You pray for them. You think about them. And sometimes, if you’re honest, you wonder if they’ll ever come back.

Maybe they’re angry with God. Maybe they’ve made choices you don’t understand. Maybe they want nothing to do with church. Or maybe they believe their mistakes are too big for God to forgive.

If you have a prodigal in your life, Luke 15 reveals something important about the heart of God.

They Matter to God
Jesus made that clear in Luke 15 when He told three stories about things that were lost - a sheep, a coin, and a son. Each story reveals the same truth: what’s lost still matters.

In Luke 19:10 Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

The shepherd didn’t see the lost sheep and decide it was a lost cause. He went looking for it, and when he found it, he didn’t punish it for getting lost. He joyfully carried it home.

That’s the heart of the Good Shepherd.

God isn’t standing at a distance, waiting for your prodigal to get their life together before He’ll receive them. He is pursuing them, and that should give you hope.

You Can’t Fix Them
When someone we love is making destructive choices, our instinct can be to fix the situation.

We want to explain. We want to convince. We want to have the perfect conversation that finally makes everything click.

But you can’t change someone’s heart. Only God can do that. Don’t carry a burden that belongs to God.

You’re not their Savior, but Jesus is!

So Pray.

Pray for your son.
Pray for your daughter.
Pray for your spouse.
Pray for your friend.

And when you don’t know what to pray, simply say: “Jesus, go find them.”

Your role is to love them, speak truth when God gives you the opportunity, set healthy boundaries when necessary, and be available when they reach out

Sometimes the most powerful thing we can offer someone who is far from God isn’t another argument. It’s a living example of what the Father’s love looks like—patient, truthful, gracious and loving.

What If They’ve Gone Too Far?
What if they’ve done too much?
What if they’ve rejected God too many times?
What if they don’t even want Him anymore?

Luke 15 answers with the heart of a Father who doesn’t stop caring when His children wander.

The lost sheep was worth searching for. The lost coin was worth finding.

And when the prodigal son finally came home, his father ran to him. The son’s rebellion didn’t stop the father from loving him or receiving him when he returned.

Psalm 103 reminds us God is compassionate and merciful, and He removes our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

This is the Father we’re praying our prodigals will encounter.

Trust the Shepherd
If someone you love is far from God, don’t give up.

You may not be able to see what God is doing, but you can trust His heart.

Your prodigal is not beyond the reach of the Good Shepherd. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and His heart for the lost hasn’t changed.

So pray with hope.
Love with patience.
Speak truth with grace.
And trust God with what you can’t control.

You don’t have to know when they’ll come home or how God will do it. You just have to trust the Shepherd.

And when someone who was lost is found, be ready to celebrate!

“Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.” (Luke 15:6)