No Losing His Love

“My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost, but now he is found!” (Luke 15:24 NCV)

Jesus summarized God’s stubborn love with a parable. He told about a teenager who decided that life at the farm was too slow for his tastes. So with pockets full of inheritance money, he set out to find the big time. What he found instead were hangovers, fair-weather friends, and long unemployment lines. When he’d had just about as much of the pig’s life as he could take, he swallowed his pride, dug his hands deep into his empty pockets, and began the long walk home, all the while rehearsing a speech that he planned to give to his father.

He never used it. Just when he got to the top of the hill, his father, who’d been waiting at the gate, saw him. The boy’s words of apology were quickly muffled by the father’s words of forgiveness. And the boy’s weary body fell into his father’s opened arms.

No wagging fingers. No clenched fists. No “I told you so!” slaps or “Where have you been?” interrogations. No crossed arms. No black eyes or fat lips. No. Only sweet, open arms. If you ever wonder how God can use you to make a difference in your world, look at the forgiveness found in those open arms and take courage.

We’ve all been that teenager, even if we were much older than that long-ago prodigal son when we stomped away from God. Our rebellion may last moments, days, or years. We might be in the midst of it right now. Wondering if God will welcome us home can leave us anxious and even avoiding the One we need most. Just remember this:

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)

God’s Promise to Me: God’s arms are always open. His mercy is waiting. His grace is mine. His love does not end. I can fall into Him.