The Heart Of The Fatherنموونە

His heart longs to find you

Can you imagine with me for a moment the heart of the father longing to find you? It gives the image of searching, seeking, and even hurting in the process of trying to draw you in. I often hear the statement, "I was searching and finally found God," but the truth is our Father is always pursuing our hearts. As we look at the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15, we get a view into the heart of the Father. What I want you to pay attention to is the close proximity of Jesus with sinners. The bible tells us that tax collectors and sinners were gathering to listen to Jesus's teachings. Still, the religious leaders of the day - the Pharisees complained about him being willing to hang out with such unworthy people. (Luke 15: 1- 2).

Today, many people are hurting; they are living lives that we may not see as worthy, pure, or holy, and we go as far as saying that what is happening in the world today is a result of them. The Pharisees had the same view back in Jesus' day, and while God does not like or approve of sin, He does not hate the sinner. We are all His creation, and He loves all of humanity. Because He loves humanity, He will do whatever it takes to draw their hearts to Him. 

Jesus explains if someone owns one hundred sheep and happens to lose one, how precious is that one that goes astray. We would be willing to leave the ninety-nine good sheep and find the one that's lost. (Luke 15: 3 - 4). It's the same way with our natural children; all our children are not the same; we can do our best to raise them well, teach them the word of God, and still, they can find themselves in difficult situations. But even when we see them straying, it breaks our hearts, we long to save them from the perils of the actions that could lead them to destruction. We would pull out all the stops to try to save them, and here Jesus is revealing this same heart of our heavenly Father toward us.

The parable goes on to describe the person searching for the lost sheep desperately until he finds it, and the delight of his heart when the sheep is found is heart-warming. Jesus describes the person putting the stray, wayward, unworthy sheep on his shoulders to bring it home. He doesn't only rejoice alone, but when he gets home, he calls his friends and neighbors to celebrate his find. (Luke 15:5 - 7). 

This is a clear picture of how our heavenly Father feels about us and more so the ones that may seem far away from Him right now, the ones that are in rebellion, the ones that are turning their backs and walking away - the Father's heart longs to find His lost children. So even amid COVID-19, God can use this crisis to draw His sons and daughters home and His hope is we who know His heart would also reflect His heart to those around us. There has never been a better time to reflect the heart of the Father than now. If you feel far away from God today, I want to encourage you right now - know that your heavenly Father's heart longs to find you!