Women of Welcome: Christ-Like Welcomeনমুনা

A word from Jill Briscoe:

When Jesus told this parable, he wanted us to know that the Waiting Father is watching for his prodigals to start the long walk home. The Father and his servants, the angels, are watching a world of prodigals sitting in packed-out pigsties. And whenever one comes to his senses and starts on home, the Father says to the angels,

“Look! There’s one!”

When I was fourteen years old, I remember looking at a Bible on my bookshelf and hearing a still, small voice inside of me insist—

“Open it.”

I struggled mightily with myself. “What for? I don’t need it,” I answered.

“You don’t even know what’s inside,” said the voice. “So how do you know you don’t need it? Go on, take it down off the shelf and open it up!”

“No,” I said stubbornly.

The funny thing was, I wanted to, but something held me back. I never did obey that voice, and I’ve often wondered: if I had, would I have opened to the story of the Prodigal and recognized myself? But in that moment of spiritual awakening, I had heard the Father’s heart and I believe the Father turned to the angels and said,

“Look! There’s one!”

When I eventually came in sight of the Father’s house five years later and approached his front door, he came out and ran to me. He didn’t make me crawl, because I came to understand Jesus had crawled all the way to Calvary for me, already carrying my cross.

It’s such a powerful picture, it leaves me breathless!

Remembering the journey, I wrote:

“You reap what you sow, you know,” said Truth.

Grace agreed, then set off running hard toward the tired boy stumbling toward home.

Truth kept pace, declaring in a loud voice what had been done.

The boy waited awkwardly, acknowledged Truth’s presence—wondering who Grace was.

“You reap what you sow you know” said Truth—with truth!

The boy nodded, eyes on his bare feet, clutching his rags around him—ashamed of the dirt.

Grace told Truth to stop nagging. “After all,” He said, “Nagging is unbelieving showing, and that’s not your job!”

Grace addressed the boy: “I forgive you,” He said.

“He doesn’t deserve it” said Truth—with truth!

Grace agreed, and then forgave him anyway: because that’s what Grace does—all the time.

Grace bent low and helped the boy onto his feet. The boy felt holes in the Man’s hands.

He was close enough now to see that grace had a broken heart and crucified feet.

It must have hurt him dreadfully to run down the road like that.

The boy cried then as he had never cried before—great tears of terrible sorrow. Because now, he recognized the stranger—

And he had his Father’s eyes.

Thoughtful Questions:

1. Are you the younger brother—stuck in the pigsty of guilt and shame—or the older brother, stuck in the pigsty of pride and prejudice? Ask God to help you step out of the miry clay into the place of peace and hope.

2. Consider what it means in your own life that the Father is near at hand even when you feel far away.

3. Have you ever thought about the image of the father waiting to welcome the son? As we consider how to welcome others in our own life, what does it look like to wait in eager anticipation? What might you do while waiting?

4. Thank God for his pursuing love, and for running down the road—on his crucified feet—to welcome you home.