Jesus told a parable of a young man who left home and wasted his inheritance on booze, wild women and partying. One day he finds himself eating from a pig trough with the pigs. He’s lost his money, his friends and his self-respect.

The young man decides that it would be better to return home and hire on as a laborer. When he arrives home he tells his father, “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21).

The young man expects his father’s wrath. Instead, his father is ecstatic because his son gave up his self-destructive ways and returned to his family. This is how God looks at you. No matter how hopeless life may appear or how many wrong deeds you’ve committed, God wants you to admit your mistakes, then ask for and receive His forgiveness and blessing.