Coming back to God after being away can feel uncertain, even awkward. These verses describe the welcome that's waiting.
// the word for this moment
“And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”
Luke 15:20 (KJV)
“I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.”
Isaiah 44:22 (KJV)“Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.”
Hosea 6:1 (KJV)Luke 15:20 is the verse for everyone coming back — the father runs while the son is still a great way off. He doesn't wait for the son to arrive, clean himself up, and knock on the door. He sees him from a distance and runs. Whatever distance you've traveled from faith, whatever the reasons were, the posture waiting for your return is not crossed arms and a demand for explanation. It's someone who has been watching the road and is already running.