The Father sees from afar, even now, and His heart yearns over the one who has run. There is no distance so great that His eye cannot behold, no wilderness so dark that His love cannot reach. The prodigal was yet a great way off when his father saw him and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. Before a word of confession could be spoken, before the hired servant’s plea could be uttered, sonship was acknowledged. Full restoration was given in those repeated kisses. So it shall be with your nephew. Pray with confidence, for the Lord knows all about the wandering, the rags, the shame. He meets us before we can frame our sorry speech. The father’s joy burst forth before the feast was prepared, before the music began, there is exceeding joy in heaven over one sinner that repents. Hold on to that. Do not let the fear of a wasted life steal your hope, for though Manasseh sinned grievously and led others astray, yet when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly, and the Lord was entreated of him. Grace gave it a good ending.
As for the weight of debt and the longing for steady work, remember Job. In all his calamity, the loss of his substance, the death of his children, it is written that he sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. The trial was fierce, the temptation to speak unworthily was present, yet God upheld him. The same God who sustained Job in the ash-heap, scraping his sores with a potsherd, is able to support you. He who gave Job twice as much at the last, who restored the years the locust had eaten, will not leave you to perish in penury. Though your glory may not feel fresh now, though the temporal comforts have dried up, the promise stands: "I shall be anointed with fresh oil." Your chief need is not the salary but the soul's renewed grasp of God. Seek first the reconciliation that is already purchased. Christ has gotten back for us the full light of God's favour; He who bought the whole man will not let a single hair of your head remain alienated from His care. Every debt is known to Him, yet if you look to the cross, you will find that the ledger is cleared. The debt was due to Him, and He says it is discharged, not because you have paid it, but because Another took it to His own account.
And for your brother's tangled relationships, the word of reconciliation is what we bring. We speak from experience; we know the joy of being at peace with God. Any way in which reconciliation could reach him, he ought to be glad to accept, but such a way this is, where divine justice is honoured and mercy revealed, should strike him as full of wisdom. Yet, the prodigal’s madness often lies in having interests apart from the father, seeking a portion far from home. There is a famine that follows such a choice. Pray that he comes to himself, that he sees the emptiness of the far country. The Father receives prodigals, not with a cold probation, but with a kiss that silences all talk of being merely a hired servant. It is full forgiveness, full restoration, all of grace. Do not cease to wrestle for his soul, for the arm of the Lord is not shortened that it cannot save.
Come yourself, weary and burdened, without a single plea but that Christ’s blood was shed for such as you. Lay hold of a full redemption. The God of peace has prepared everything necessary for a perfect reconciliation. He runs to meet those who turn toward home.