When I was sixteen, before I committed my life to Jesus, I used to drink a lot of alcohol. On one occasion after returning from a particularly massive session, where I had consumed fifteen pints of beer, I made a very strange decision. 

I returned at 3am without any house keys or a grasp of reality. I looked like a scratchy pencil drawing of Pete Doherty. Being too ashamed to knock on my front door and have to face my parents in this sorry state, I broke into a neighbour’s coal shed and slept on the sacks of coal. After 45 minutes my bottom jaw wouldn’t move. In my drunken logic, I decided to make my way round to the side of my parents house and burrow into a flowerbed. I had seen animals do this and I thought that it would be warmer in the soil. It wasn’t. I had run out of options.

At 5am I could bear it no longer so I rang the door bell of my house and was welcomed in by my tired but incredible parents. They made no judgements, no negative comments. Mum said “Welcome back. I’m so glad you are safe” while rapping me in a rug and putting me on the sofa where I slept for the next 10 hours.

Jesus tells a story about a similarly foolish young man who goes against the will of his Father, takes his inheritance and lives an outrageously hedonistic lifestyle. He overspent on money and life until he eventually ran out of options. With his head held low, he returned to his Dad’s place who ran to meet him and welcomed him with open arms. Read that story here...

The great truth is that no matter how foolish we have been, how hedonistic we have become, how far from God we have wandered or how bad we feel about ourselves - God runs out to meet us with open arms. Every one of us is a bit like the young man sometimes, even if you don’t end up burrowing into a flowerbed!

If, as you are reading this, something in you wants God to open his arms to welcome you, why not tell Jesus about it now. It doesn’t matter if you don’t even know him yet. He knows you, he longs to encourage you, he wants to whisper some fantastic truths to you, he will make you more complete than ever and most importantly - he loves you very much indeed.

There is no safer place to run than into the arms of God.