As a Christian, you may sometimes wonder: Have I made too many mistakes or too big of a blunder for God to see me as his legitimate child? Have I gone so far I’ve been disowned? Has he turned his back on me? Is he disappointed with me? Does he love me less because I’ve made some bad decisions?

In The Prodigal, author Wayne Kniffen communicates that no matter how badly you may have blown it by making foolish choices, God isn’t mad at you. He is madly in love with you. The two sons in the Luke 15 parable provide deep insights into God’s love for you. Luke records one of the most familiar parables ever told by Jesus: the parable of the prodigal.

The heavenly truth Jesus wants us to glean from this earthy story is to understand what the heavenly father thinks about us, how he sees us, and how he feels about us—even when we willfully make poor choices. Since this is one of the biggest issues—if not the biggest issue—Christians struggle with, Kniffen presents an examination of the fifteenth chapter of Luke.