12, 13. What factors have helped some today to come to their senses? (See box.)

¹² “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many hired men of my father are abounding with bread, while I am perishing here from famine! I will rise and journey to my father and say to him: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Make me as one of your hired men.”’ So he rose and went to his father.”—Luke 15:17-20.

14. What resolve did the prodigal make, and how did he show humility in doing so?

¹⁴ But what can those who have strayed do about their situation? In Jesus’ parable the prodigal decided to journey back home and beg for his father’s forgiveness. “Make me as one of your hired men,” the prodigal resolved to say. A hired servant was a day laborer who could be dismissed on a day’s notice. This was even lower than a slave who was, in a sense, like a member of the family. So the prodigal did not have in mind asking that he be restored to his former status as a son. He would be quite willing to accept the lowest position in order to prove his renewed loyalty to his father day by day. However, the prodigal was in for a surprise.