The Loving Father: Luke 15:11-32
“The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished.”
Luke 15:12-32
Jesus next tells the story that is commonly called the Prodigal Son. It is much longer than the three verses quoted above.
Actually, the story is about the loving Father who had two sons and lost one of them. He was a 50% looser. Though he let his son go, his heart went with him.
The life circumstances for the staying son went from bad to worse. He made wrong decisions, wasted his entire estate, spent everything on sinful living and then became destitute, poor and homeless.
To remedy the situation, the straying son got a job either a citizen of that country. We now have a picture of Satan. He worked him hard, paid him little, sent him to care for pigs and left him starving. It was so bad, the straying son considered feeding on slop with the pigs.
For someone from a Jewish background, the description of the son was abominable, pathetic and disgraceful. At his lowest point, he be an to think about his own father.
By contrast, his father treated his hired servants with more dignity, compassion, respect and fairness than the citizen of this wicked land could imagine. That evil citizen exploited his workers and was willing to let them suffer and die.
Suddenly, he came to his senses , humbled himself and decided to return to his father. He decided to repent and offer to become his father’s lowliest servant.
While he was still a long ways off, his father saw him coming. He had been patiently watching and waiting from the day his son left.
Then the dignified father did the most unimaginable thing. He started running toward his son. This is the only time God the Father is pictured as running in the Bible. When a sinner repents, He runs to meet him!
Think about it, the son was poor, destitute, starving, dirty, stinking and cover with pig manure. The father ignored his condition and embraced him just as he was. What a picture of the love of God.
The son barely uttered his humble confession, when the father wrapped him in his warm embrace and kissed him. Then he quickly ordered his servants to bring out the best robe and put it on him, put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet and then prepare a fattened calf for a celebration.
The son was restored to his family dignity and heritage. There was no shaming, guilt or condemnation from the father. The son was forgiven. He was safely home and that’s all that mattered. It was time to celebrate. The lost son had returned.
This is the way God the Father receives every straying child who repents and returns home. The robe, the ring, the sandals and the banquet are pictures of total forgiveness, restoration, healing and acceptance.
We will cover the reaction of the oldest son in the next section, but for now, the Holy Spirit wants to draw every sinful and lost person to the loving Father. This is the ultimate expression of John 3:16-17. The gospel is for you and me. The Father is patiently waiting for people to repent and turn toward Him.
If this describes you, the Bible promises that the Father will run to meet you! He has provided everything for your forgiveness, salvation and restoration.
He will not force you to come to Him. He will respect your free will. You must decide which master you are going to serve. (Read John 10:10)
Daily Bible Commentary
By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
