BelongingNäide

His Father Saw Him

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. (v. 20)

When I was a child, I got on the wrong bus on my way home from my very first day of school. My anxious parents were looking for me and rejoiced when they found me.

Jesus tells us a parable of a son who went his own way and was lost. The son had squandered the inheritance he received from his father. When the money was gone, he remembered that even his father’s servants ate better than he did. The son returned home rehearsing his speech to ask for forgiveness from his father. But a most amazing thing happened!

The father saw him from far off and ran to him. This was not normal for a man in this culture. But our text tells us that the father “felt compassion” (v. 20). Instead of being angry with his son, he ran to him and expressed his love to him. He embraced him and kissed him. Rather than punishing him, he threw a party in his honor and brought out the best for him because he was lost and now was found.

How do you picture God? If you picture God as a punishing God, remember this parable. God loves you, his child. He is always looking for you, wanting you to come home to him. Return to him today. May you feel his love and compassion for you, his child.

As you pray, thank God for his great love for you.