Yes, that is the issue, whether you want to acknowledge it or not. When a person is born again, he/she becomes a child of God by birth. 1 Peter 1:23 says we are born again of incorruptible seed. That incorruptible seed is eternal life. Eternal is eternal.
Well, then, let's look at the actions of the father …
Luke 15:20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
The father saw his son, when he was yet a great way off. Please note the father was not sitting in sackcloth and ashes mourning the death of his son. The father was waiting for his son to return.