Strangers & Aliens

"...Jesus' understanding of sin is more subtle and unsettling. The main offence of this young man [The Prodigal Son] was not that he ended up in wild living. It was that he demanded his share of the Father's resources but then decided to spend those resources on himself, at a great distance from the Father. In other words, he wanted all that his father had to offer, but nothing to do with the Father himself. On this definition, how many of us can claim NOT to be sinners?...We may not live wildly, but we do live separately from the Father. That, according to Jesus, is the heart of sin."

Taken from Simply Christianity leaders' notes written by John Dickson (a course we occasionally use in the church for evangelistic Bible Studies).