The parable of the prodigal son shows the following scenarios between the Father (God) and the prodigal son (sinner):
- Man should have inheritance if not because of the separation, resulting from sin
- God respects the will of man
- Man always hide from God when in sin
- Without God, man's attention is diverted to eating, drinking and merrymaking
- Man becomes wild when separated from God
- Man's situation is desperate apart from God
- By the conviction from God, man realizes that the current situation is not his home and that the situation in his Father's home is far better.
- When God makes man feel sorry enough to turn to him and be saved, he doesn't have anything to feel bad about. But when this world makes man feel sorry, it can cause him death (2 Cor. 7:10).
- The LORD is close to those who have suffered disappointment. He saves those who are discouraged (Psa. 34:18).
- God clothes man with the righteousness of Christ (Isa. 61:10).
- There is happiness in heaven because of one sinner who turns to God. Luke 15:7
- Man in sin is considered dead. Coming back to God is being born again.
This parable shows the nature of repentance, and the Lord's readiness to welcome and bless all who return to Him. It doesn't portray whether the Father looked after him or not. However, considering other parables (the lost sheep and the lost coin) and the event in the Garden of Eden, one statement satisfies the argument, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).