Leave the Porch Light on the Prodigal is Coming Home

There’s something comforting about a front porch light. It quietly says, “You’re welcome here. This house isn’t closed. Someone is waiting for you.”

In Luke 15, when the prodigal son returned home after wasting everything, his father didn’t slam the door. He didn’t cancel him. He didn’t throw his failures in his face. Instead, he ran to meet him with open arms.

This is a picture of the Father’s heart. And if we are His people – His hands, His feet, and His light – we are called to live in such a way that the prodigal sons and daughters of our generation know there is still a way home.

1. The Prodigal’s Story (Luke 15:11–24)

The younger son took his inheritance early, squandered it in reckless living, and found himself broken, hungry, and desperate.

But then he “came to himself.” He remembered the goodness of his father’s house and decided to return – not because he deserved it, but because he knew life with his father was better than life in the pigpen.

And what happened? The father ran to him, embraced him, and restored him.

The Father’s posture is not rejection but restoration. That same posture is what we, as the church, are called to reflect to the world.

2. Keep the Porch Light On

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14).

That light is forgiveness, love, and grace. If we shut it off with bitterness, judgment, or offense, how will the prodigal ever find their way back?

• Cancel culture says: “You made a mistake – be gone forever.”
• The gospel says: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).

When we build walls of offense, anger, or unforgiveness, we act like shutters covering the light of Christ. But if people can’t see Jesus in us, how will they ever find the doorway to Him?

3. Offense Hardens Hearts

Proverbs 18:19 warns us: “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city.”

Living offended only makes it harder for people to come to Jesus.

Look at Jesus’ example: He corrected sin, but always in love. He was tough on sin but tender with sinners. Think of the woman caught in adultery. He didn’t excuse her sin, but He also didn’t condemn her. He forgave her and said, “Go and sin no more.” That’s truth in love.

4. Reflecting Jesus to the World

We are His hands and feet. God has chosen us, His church, to reflect His light.

Ephesians 4:15 reminds us to “speak the truth in love.”

• Truth without love is harshness.
• Love without truth is compromise.
• Truth with love – that’s Jesus.

If the prodigal is ever going to find the Father’s arms, they must first see His reflection in us.

5. A Call to Action

So how do we keep the porch light on?

• Let go of offense. Don’t let petty disagreements rob the church of its testimony.
• Pray more than you argue. Take it to the throne before you take it to social media.
• Love enough to correct. True love doesn’t ignore sin; it points people to the cross where sin was defeated.
• Live with the light on. Keep your heart soft, your arms open, and your message consistent: There is still a way home through Jesus.

The prodigal son came home because he knew where home was. He knew his father’s heart. He knew the door wasn’t locked and the light was still shining.

Church, let’s not be the ones who shut the light off. Let’s not build walls so high that no one can see Jesus through us. Instead, let’s shine brightly with forgiveness, love, and truth so that when the prodigals of this generation look up from their pigpens, they know exactly where to go.

Leave the porch light on—the prodigal is coming home.