The Parable of the Good Father




“…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.”
I believe the Kingdom of God to be so beyond our thoughts that Jesus had no need to embellish the parables. His figurative speech reflects a truth that we could not understand, in terms we could grasp.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son as told by Jesus in Luke chapter 15 brings the plight of mankind to a personal level; one on one – father and sons.
One son does everything right, sticks by the father and works hard. The other son is a rebellious dreamer so arrogant as to think he deserves something better and so depraved as to sell his inheritance for the lusts of the flesh.
The reason for Jesus telling this is to underscore the heart of God for humanity. All of us are sinful without a doubt. If you are like the older son and struggle with pride or resentment or jealousy, the father will have patience with you and he makes a promise to the faithful son; “Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.” Your inheritance is fixed and complete.
But the rebellious younger son; what has he? He has a home, and a father who will always love him. So great is the fathers love that he does not simply make a place in the servants quarters and allow him to eat leftovers. The father does not hold back and wait for the child to grovel and beg and kiss his feet. In fact the father wants all to know this wayward boy is his son, and so adorns him with a robe restoring him to the position over the servants. He puts a ring on his finger, more than likely the signet of his family and a sign of authority. And sandals because a proper Jewish man covers his feet.
But deeper and more moving than all that is this - this father who must have been waiting with hope for this day sees this young man a long way off and you can almost feel the emotion welling up in the father’s heart until he cannot contain himself and he runs to his child, hugs and kisses him, and he really doesn’t care what has happened only that he has returned.
God is like this or Jesus wouldn’t have put this in the story. For every lost and rebellious sinner, depraved and miserable, God the Father is waiting to receive you. He is watching the horizon with hope of your return. And all you need do is humble yourself and know in your heart that the way you are living was not what God made you for; God has already created the path back to Him in Jesus Christ. You take that one step to Jesus and the Father will run the rest of the way to embrace you. He will clothe you like a child of His, give you the authority of His name, and make a room back in His house just for you!
In these troubling times there is nothing more certain than this; that God loves you and wants to save you for eternity, and Jesus has provided the way. Come to Jesus just as you are and the Father will take care of the rest.