20So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
Luke 15:20
This Scripture is part of Jesus’ story that we call the Prodigal Son. This young man asked his father for his inheritance early so that he could leave his father and strike out on his own. The son went off to a foreign land and wasted his father’s wealth on wild and unwise living.
Jesus was telling this account to a group of known sinners while the Pharisees listened in (Luke 15:1-2). The Pharisees were very strict religious keepers of the law, and they had a way of looking down on anyone who wasn’t in their little club. No doubt, as Jesus described the depravity of the son, the Pharisees leaned in to hear of what punishment the son would receive. They couldn’t wait to hear the consequences the son would get for violating God’s rules.
Then Jesus began to describe the father’s love for this lost son. The father had been waiting, looking in the direction where he had last seen his son. When the father saw the first signs of his boy, the father didn’t feel anger but was overwhelmed by love and ran out to hug him and welcome him home.
Maybe at one time you felt like life would be better away from God and on your own. Life is hard, struggles give us wounds, and heartaches make us bitter. Would you think about returning to the Father? I recently read “no matter how many steps you’ve taken away from God, He’s only one step away.”
Come back to the Father. He loves you and is eagerly waiting for your return.
