12 The Father's love for us

 Luke 15:21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.


How do we know God forgives us. Can we be sure we do not have to perform a myriad of deeds to win God's favour? The parable of the prodigal son teaches us the answer to these questions. The son having taken his inheritence goes off to foreign lands and squanders the wealth on woman and material pleasures. Having ran out of money and close to starvation he makes a decision to go back to his Father and plead for forgiveness, offering to work the Father's land.  

I wonder how the Father would have reacted had this been a hired hand? Would he have been so gracious? Perhaps not. But this wasn't a hired hand, this was his son. The love the Father had for his son was inbred in him, the desire to forgive impregnated in his DNA. It was not simply the willingness to repent which made this story, it was the pre-desire to forgive which makes the story. The Father was ready to forgive. The story tells us from a long way off the Father saw his son coming. Chances are the Father looked into the distance perhaps every day, wondering, waiting for his return. 

How many of our children go their own way, or throw themselves into tantrums and tears? How may tell us they are leaving home and how unfair their parents are? Yet as parents we still love them and wait for their moods to subside and hug them once again. 

God is not inferior to an Earthly Father. He has already forgiven us, we just need to come back to Him. In doing so we recognise our need of Him, our desire to be close to our maker. That however we live our lives, we will never make better choices than the ones we do when we are guided by the hand of our Father. That our best was never good enough, but that it was us which our Father desires and not what we do, yet our worst was never bad enough to block out the love of God. 

 As a parent the door is always open to our children, ears always attentive, eyes always on them. Why would we think our Father in Heaven cares any less?


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