February 18, 2026 – Ash Wednesday Text: Zechariah 1:1-6
Dear Friends in Christ,
The young man stormed out of the room, and slammed the door on the way out. He had been caught lying to his dad and didn’t like the way his dad talked to him. He was done with his dad. Done with this house, done with these rules, done with others telling him what to do. He didn’t need a high school diploma, there were other jobs in the world. He left in a rage . . . ready to be on his own.
Dad waited up late that night. And the next. And the next. Would his son ever return? Would they ever have a good relationship? Eventually dad stopped staying up late. He had other children who needed his energy. He never stopped thinking about his estranged son. He never gave up hope that his son would return home.
This sad but true story illustrates the way God looks at his wayward and wandering people. He never stops loving them. Never stops holding out hope that they will return to him. He won’t force them to return. He does offer the promise that when they return to him, he will return to them.
This Lent, we’ll be hearing from Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo. Each week we will look at one his prophecies to see how he described Jesus’ suffering and death in such vivid detail that he has been called the Holy Week prophet. Tonight . . .
“RETURN TO ME”
Zechariah states this theme in the opening verses of his book. “Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.” (v. 3) Why does God say that? Where had his people gone that they now need to return? Zechariah’s prophecies were made around 520 B.C. some 15 years after the exiles had returned from Babylon to the Promised Land. They were back home, living in relative peace and comfort.
God wasn’t calling them to return physically but spiritually. He was calling them to repent. See when they got back home, they got so focused on rebuilding their lives, planting their fields, and restoring their bank accounts that they forgot the God who had restored them to their land.
So, Zechariah calls them to turn from their evil ways. “Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds. But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord.” He was tired of their repeated rebellion. He told them to knock it off. He disciplined them. He took away their homes and their land and their freedom. They were enslaved by an enemy nation.
Zechariah told the people to look around. Look what happened to your ancestors when they disobeyed. Will you learn from their history?
Will we? Or will we repeat them? We too need to be called to turn back to God because we sin daily. We get distracted by life, the cares and concerns, our jobs, our homes, our bank accounts. Everyday life can have us forgetting about God. If God ever seemed distant from you, who wandered away? Hint: it wasn’t God.
Not only can we have strained relationships with others, slammed doors, rebellion. We can do the same with God. Bolt the door behind us with our apathy.
God though never forgets us. Never stops loving us. Never stops hoping for our return. “Come home,” says the Father. “Repent, turn back to me, and know that I will return to you.” The Lord is faithful, steadfast, his never-ending love remembers us.
Remember the angry young man in our introduction? He eventually went home. After rebelling against his earthly father and his heavenly Father, he returned to both. Both fathers forgave him and welcomed him home. That young man was Lee Strobel, who would later author The Case for Christ, The Case for a Creator, The Case for Easter and other Christian books that have helped many wayward sons and daughters to find their way home.
The Lord remembers. He remembered his promises to send a Savior. Jesus was estranged from his Father on Calvary so that he could reconcile you to God. Jesus led a pure and holy life for us and died on the cross to pay the full price for our sins. Through faith in Jesus, we have been clothed in our Savior’s perfect righteousness and holiness.
No matter how often you have wandered, no matter how far you have run from home, the Lord’s promise remains: “Return to me . . . and I will return to you.” So come on, friends, let’s go home. Our Father is waiting with open arms!
Amen.