“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger. 18. I’ll get up and go to my father and say to him, Father I have sinned against heaven and in your sight….20. So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a great way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.” HCSB
I assume that you are familiar with this parable that we call, “The Parable of the Prodigal Son.” I choose to call it, “The Parable of the Loving Father.” It seems that this young man had decided that he was tired of living in his father’s house. He asked his father for his inheritance, which the father generously gave him. He took the money and ran, so to speak, and his life became a big party. A famine came in the land to which he had escaped and after only finding a job to feed pigs, and wanting to eat the food that the pigs ate, he saw the error of his way and went back to the father. On his return, the father welcomed him, hugged and kissed him, and gave him a party. That is a loving and forgiving father. The parable is given to reveal to us our loving and compassionate Heavenly Father. There is so much to learn from this parable. I want to share in the space remaining three important lessons that we need to derive from this parable. The first thing that I saw was that our loving Heavenly Father does not give up on us. You will notice that while the son was still “a great way off,” the father saw him. This means that the boy’s father had been looking for his return. I get the picture of the loving father going out each day to scan the horizon in order to see his rebellious son returning. He had not given up on the boy. Our loving Heavenly Father does not give up on us either. We call it grace, God’s unmerited favor. We don’t deserve this kind of love, but He gives it anyway. Your loving Heavenly Father knows where you are right now, and looks for your return if you have strayed from Him. The second thing that I saw was when we return to our loving Heavenly Father, He welcomes us with open arms. He has compassion for us and knows that we are not happy out there in the “far country” away from Him. He knows that the world welcomes us as long as we can afford it, but spits us out when we get to the end of our rope. In His great heart, our Loving Heavenly Father longs for us to return to Him and to love and serve Him instead of the thankless world. If you have never had a relationship with this loving Heavenly Father, He will welcome you. If you have strayed from the daily fellowship with Him to something different, He will welcome you. As the old hymn says, “Come home, come home, come home. Ye who are weary come home. Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling. Calling, oh sinner come home.” The third thing that I saw was when you come home to the arms of the loving Heavenly Father, He will rejoice, and “throw a party” for you. Your return will be a time of celebration! This is what the father in the parable did and this is what our loving Heavenly Father will do for us. When the son in the parable returned, the father ordered his servants to “kill the fatted calf” and prepare him for a feast. He put a ring on the returning son’s finger and robe on his shoulders – and they partied. Hey, come to the party. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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