At ONE Woman ’24, we hosted father/son duo James and Geoff Banks; James is the father of Geoff, a former prodigal who walked away from God and the foundation provided by his parents.

Their poignant story is one that includes addiction, jail, and multiple rehabs while encouraging parents to never give up on their children.

You can read about their experience in Hope Lies Ahead. The book will encourage anyone with a teenager or adult child who has chosen to go ‘to the far country,’ far from God. 

Their story, by God’s grace, is one of hope and redemption. Last week I shared my notes from the perspective of James – the parent. This week I share Geoff’s perspective as a prodigal. I pray his insights will be both informative and encouraging.

Notes from Geoff Bank’s session: The Former Prodigal

Now a high school pastor, Geoff shares his thoughts from a prodigal’s viewpoint, offering advice for parents.

• Often prodigals see Christians as stuck-up, judgmental, and hypocritical. They incorrectly assume these same characteristics define Jesus.
• When Geoff’s parents gave guidance, he saw it as them trying to control him. 
• The Pharisees in Jesus’ day set society’s rules. They controlled what was acceptable and not. Had we (as parents) lived during those times, we would probably identify more with the Pharisees who desired to control everything.

Using the account of Paul’s conversion in Acts 9, Geoff highlighted some key points:

• Jesus was different from the Pharisees. He didn’t read off a list of rules but instead asked a question: “Who do you say I am?” Jesus invited Saul to discover who He was. Saul, who later became known as Paul, went on to write much of the New Testament.
• Ananias, whom Jesus prompted to visit the notorious Christian-hater Saul, played a significant role in Saul’s conversion. Ananias called Saul “brother” before there was any change in Saul, illustrating an important point. He chose to love Saul where he was. He chose to enter into the journey and help Saul discover who Christ was.

Bottom Line:

1. Enter the journey with the prodigal. You must have a ‘long game’ mindset as it may take years. Saul’s conversion to Paul was a span of 14 years. 
2. Love people well. You don’t have to compromise Truth in order to love others who may be walking far from Jesus. Be an Ananias.

Join me next week as I wrap up the series on the Prodigal with a review of the panel discussion.