Key Bible Verse: Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him (Luke 15:20). Bonus Reading:Luke 15:11–24

The entire student body of a Phoenix, Arizona, high school assembled outdoors. I stood on a large rock to speak to roughly 1,000 students seated on the grass. As I began, a group of punk rockers, sporting fluorescent hair and wearing yards of chains, walked up to within 20 feet of me. Several teachers kept watchful eyes on the colorful group, perhaps expecting some kind of disturbance. But I finished speaking uninterrupted. As I stepped down off the rock, however, the apparent leader of the punk rockers ran up and planted himself less than a foot in front of me.

A gasp arose from the crowd. But most couldn't see the tears streaming down his face, nor hear him ask me to hug him. A wave of murmurs rolled through the crowd as I threw my arms around that young man and he buried his head in my shoulder and cried. After a minute, he finally let go and, through his tears, explained, "My father's never hugged me or said 'I love you.'"

That young man's outlandish appearance and wild behavior were a cry for the attention and acceptance that he wasn't getting, which only his father could give.

My Response: Do my children know they have my unconditional love and acceptance? How?

Thought to Apply: Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives.