“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20
In Luke 15, we read about the Prodigal Son. This story gives us one of the most beautiful pictures of God’s love and His invitation to us to return home. Many of us know this story; a young man makes the selfish and unwise decision to ask his father for his inheritance while his father is still alive so he can go his own way. He takes his money and hits the road, but after a while, loses all his money and ends up getting a job where he is feeding pigs. As pigs were viewed as ceremonially unclean by the Jewish people, this man has hit rock bottom on multiple levels. Hungry, tired, and recognising how much he had messed up, he decides to go back home with his tail between his legs and beg for his father’s mercy and forgiveness.
The Father Who Was Waiting
Scripture tells us that while he was a long way off, his father saw him and ran to him, wrapping his arms around him. On the surface, this seems very gracious. But it goes much deeper than a father running to his son. In Jewish culture, to ask for your inheritance while the father was still alive was highly offensive because it was essentially saying that you wished the parent was dead. This was more than a son asking for his share. This was a son rejecting his father, his family, his community, his responsibilities, and his country.
Despite the shame and pain the son had caused by asking for his inheritance, the father stood waiting for him. The father had every right to turn his back on his son, to declare him dead to the family. Instead, the father waits for him. And when he sees him a long way off, the father let’s his love for his son lead and he runs to him. He doesn’t stand back and wait for his son to reach him, he runs. A Middle Eastern patriarch running was deemed undignified because it meant he needed to lift his robes and expose his legs. It was an embarrassment, yet the father did not care and ran anyway. He shows the world around him that not only has he welcomed his son back, he is overjoyed to have him back. He throws a party and celebrates the return of a son who had caused shame and heartache.
God’s Love When We Wander
Just like the father, God, our Father in Heaven, waits for us.
When we wander and stray, He waits for us to return.
Even as pride tells us we know better, He waits.
When heartache, pain, and impatience drown out what we know about God and we walk away from Him, He waits for us to return.
No matter how far we go and how long we are gone for, God waits for us to return.
And when we finally turn back to God, He welcomes us home.
The Invitation To Come Home
The love of the father in Luke 15 is the love God has demonstrated to us through Jesus. Through Jesus, God made a way for us to return to Him. At some stage and in some way, all of us are prodigals with God. We think we know better, so we do things our way instead of God’s. Or we blame God when things don’t go how we wanted and we give Him the silent treatment. For some, it’s simply being distracted by life and pushing God to the side. Yet in all of that, He never stops waiting for us. He never stops watching for us and calling us home. And He never stops loving us.
How Will You Respond To His Invitation To Come Back Home?
God is calling all of us to draw closer. Maybe you pulled away from God, or life got in the way and you find yourself distant from God. God has never stopped loving you. And when you turn toward Him, you will find a Father who’s arms are open as He comes towards you with compassion. The question is, how will you respond?