Skip to main content

The Love of A Father





As I was reading The story of ā€œThe Prodigal Sonā€  in Matthew.   I have read it many times, and you probably have too.  As I was reading, God focused my attention not on the prodigal, but the father.   When the son demanded his inheritance, the father could have said, ā€œI am not giving you your inheritance right now.ā€ Or ā€œYou’re not responsible enough to handle it yetā€ …. but he didn’t.  The father gave him the estate possibly knowing what the outcome would be.  Why would he let him have his way?  I believe it is because God will NEVER force us to love him.  The son’s, there were two, had the same choice that we have.  We can choose to love God or not.  When the son left his father’s house, the one thing we don’t see is the father ā€œchasing after his son.  The father let the son go.  The father NEVER once bails him out. Did he not love the Son?  Of course he did!  The son went out and made a zillion bad life choices. In spite of this, the father was waiting and watching for the son to come home.  He still loved him immensely.  I believe the father knew something that we often forget.  The bad life choices can be the catalyst to bring us to the love of the father.   The son wasn’t ready to love the father until he was out in a pig pen wallowing in the mud wrestling pigs for food.  Sometimes when we see a friend, a spouse, a child, making what we know is a horrible decision, the best thing we can do is pray but let them go.  We don’t let them go because we don’t love them, but because we do love them.   I find this hard because I am a nurturer, protector.  When I see someone floundering after making a terrible choice I want to rush in like a category 5 tornado and bail them out.  That’s not always a bad thing, but it MAY be if it keeps them from longing for God.  Chasing after people never causes them to love us or God.  Do you think the son would have ever come home if the father had chased him?  Maybe, but I doubt it.  He likely would have resented him and gone farther from home.  The son had to realize what he gave up.  The father loved him enough to let him go, so that WHEN he came back the son would love him.  The father waited and watched for the day that the son would return home.   When the son turned toward home, THEN the father went to him.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Thank you God for Leading us

Thank you God for how you lead us. Like a shepherd leading his sheep. Sometimes through the words you spoke in the Bible, your written word. at other times, it was the wise words from friends,  coworkers,or neighbors spoken at just the right time. Still other times it was a gentle tug,   a whisper to our heart to move  in one direction or another;  intuition or a sixth sense that one   way or another was right or wrong    Yet, when I listened and obeyed   I found the way was clear, distinct and easy to follow. You never leave us to guess which way to go.                                                                                                      ...

Grow Old Gracefully

I’d like to tell you about a lady I visited yesterday.   She is ninety-five years young.  She recently moved into nursing home.  She asked one of the workers how many times she would have to walk around the outside of the building in order to walk a mile.  She said the person told her about ten.   Then she leaned in really close and whispered, ā€œI walked around twelve just to be sure I walked a mile.ā€  Hahahaha! What a lady!  She loves to keep active, even in a nursing home.  As we talked, I saw no anger or bitterness in her speech or actions. There was only a love for God, a heart of compassion, and a sense of humor. She has befriended the one "prickly pear" at the home because as she said, ā€œI have to love her, so she knows Jesus loves her too.ā€  Wow!!! I need to live like that!  I want to show that much compassion for those around me that need Jesus.  She loved to talk about God and what he was teaching her. ...

What’s That Smell?

To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. 2Corinthians 2:16 Last break!  The shift was almost over. Then the unthinkable happened, this man appeared out of nowhere wanting to know where the flashlights were kept.  As we were on our way to the flashlights, I noticed that this man had a very strong odor.  I thought perhaps I could get in front of him so that the smell would not be as strong.   That, however, was not to be either since; he insisted on keeping pace and walking right beside me. By the time we got to where the flashlights were; I was practically running just to keep ahead of him.  I showed him the flashlights and made a hasty exit.  If you’re like me, you shower and even put on perfume or cologne so that you will not stink.  We are concerned that the smell coming from our body is not offensive to others.  As I write this, I wonder if we are as concerned with our spiritual aroma as ...