Rob Parsons' message is for anyone who cares about the prodigals. He urges us to be released from false guilt, to stop judging each other, and to remember that God, the perfect parent, has trouble with his children too.

Our children can disappoint us, hurt us, even abuse us but somehow we cannot stop loving them. This incredible book is a call for parents to be released from guilt, the church to repent of the part it has played, and a call to prayer that the prodigals will come home.

Parsons challenges the Church to recognise the part it has played in creating prodigals and to get ready for their return. With characteristic honesty he suggests, 'When our prodigals do come home, pray with all your heart that they meet the father first and not the elder brother!' But this is not just for other people: 'We suddenly see that the dirty, tear-stained face coming down the road is our face; and then we discover what, deep in our heart, we knew all along: we are the prodigal.'