Jump Start # 879

Luke 15:20 “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him  and kissed him.”

The prodigal came home. The wild adventures in the far country turned into disaster for this younger son. Broke, embarrassed, helpless, hopeless and friendless, he turns to home. He rehearsed his apology speech. He thought about it. That long road home was so different than the journey away from home. I expect he left excited, full of dreams and plans and nearly running. The journey home is full of regrets. He came home a failure. He was a loser.

How appropriate on Father’s Day weekend, that we now turn to the hero of this story, the father. His actions, words and attitude is what makes this story. He had been hurt. He had been embarrassed. Yet, his love, grace and forgiveness is what turns this story into a picture of God and us. Jesus wants the world to see that this is God. This is how God acts.

A few thoughts for us.

First, the prodigal knew his father. He had lived with his father for a long time. He had seen how his father dealt with the servants. He knew his father to be a kind and generous man. He knew the heart of his father. This is the key to this story. Without this knowledge he would have had no where to go.

Many prodigals today remain prodigals because they do not know their Father, God. They fear God. They messed up and they fear God will only make it worse for them. They stay away from worshipping God, they avoid God’s people and close their hearts, mind and eyes to God’s word. The one person who can really help them, they run from because they do not know Him. The prodigal came home. He knew his father.

It seems in all our teaching that we do, especially to teenagers and college students, that this is a message that they need to get. They need to know God. We dance all around that subject and talk about all kinds of interesting things, but I wonder how many are pulled to the far country without a knowledge of the Father. They stay in the wilderness for decades because they do not understand God.

A true knowledge of God is not that He is a softy and we can get away with anything we want. That is not God. A true knowledge of God is not that He overlooks sin and denies that His children could ever do anything wrong. That’s not God. God is loving and forgiving.

A second thought here. In this story, the father represents God. One can only imagine what it would be like to have God as a literal dad in the house. The perfect parent. One who was right every time. Not overly strict and demanding and not a push over who neglects. Yet, with God as the perfect parent the prodigal left. He left the best for the inferior. He left. Are we to assume that God was partially to blame for the prodigal leaving? Had he been a better parent, the prodigal would have stayed? Is that a fair conclusion to the text? NO. Absolutely not. God is perfect, 100% of the time. We are not perfect as God is. As parents, we have made mistakes. But many godly parents are eaten up with guilt because they have a prodigal in the family. It is only made worse by the whispers, guilt, judging and comments of others. Some prodigals leave not because of the parent but because of the far country.

A third thought. Every time a prodigal returns, you and I have to opportunity to act like the father or to act like the older brother. We can accept or we can shun. That is our role to play.

Now, let’s notice two other things about the prodigals return.

When he came, he began his speech. Verse 21, the actual speech, mirrors verse 19, the rehearsed speech, except for one part. The prodigal didn’t get to say, “Make me as one of your men.” I believe he intended to say that. He couldn’t. The father interrupted him with orders for a robe, sandals, ring and a feast. These were the signs of acceptance. Servants didn’t where sandals, sons did. Servants didn’t wear the best robe, the masters did. Servants were not given the ring, a signet ring, meaning trust, ownership and rights. Servants didn’t eat the fatted calf. They cooked the fatted calf. The calf that was saved for special occasions. Two unmarried boys at home…maybe the father was saving this for a future wedding. The celebration was now. The lost has been found, the dead is now alive. The father did everything he could to demonstrate to the prodigal that all was forgiven and that he was loved and accepted. That is so important. The father didn’t lecture. He didn’t give a speech. He ordered gifts, food and feasting. Just days before this, the prodigal was looking at pig food. Now he was going to eat the fatted calf. God blesses us beyond measure.

When the prodigal came home, he was changed. He was not the same. He was not demanding. He was broken. He learned some lessons. He was wrong. Some prodigals come home unchanged. They still have an attitude. They still have the thirst for the far country. They come home making demands and threats. Those are not the times for rings, robes and celebrations. Those prodigals come home because they know mom and dad have a soft spot in their heart and more than anything, no one else will take them in. Home is their last choice. They don’t want to be there and they don’t plan on staying there long. It’s a place for a meal, a bed until they can figure out how to return to the far country. Parents make a grave mistake in such cases when they bring robes, rings, and fatted calves. In such cases, the lost remains lost. The dead are still dead. They are not interested in forgiveness, God, church or doing right. They want a bed and a meal and nothing said. They have no speech. They do not apologize. They do not say that they have sinned. They show up and expect. They show up and demand. Don’t confuse this for what happened in Luke 15. They are not the same.

The prodigal in Jesus’ story came home changed. He said, “Father, I have sinned…”

We must remember that this is a parable, a story. It is so vivid and alive that we can see it. I can see that old father seeing the son a long way off. How did he recognize him? He knew. The father drops what he was doing, I always imagined him out hoeing the garden, and he takes off running. Understand in Jesus’ day, people didn’t run much. It wasn’t an exercise thing. People ran when there was trouble. People ran to escape trouble. The old man running must have caught the eyes of the servants. You notice, as he interrupts the prodigal’s speech, he tells the servants to bring ring, robe and sandals. Where were the servants? They must have seen the father running and they took off after him. They must have wondered what is going on. What’s gotten into the old guy.

We end this piece by noticing the actions of the father. He ran. He embraced. He ordered. He felt compassion. He kissed. Genuine love. Real acceptance. Warmth. The prodigal hadn’t felt that way in a while. Dirty, smelly, hungry and nothing to offer his father other than himself, he was shown this great love.

Many of us wish we had a dad like that. Maybe your dad wasn’t the best. I was with my dad yesterday. He had surgery. We laughed, talked and hugged each other. We love each other. Not all have a relationship like that. Some don’t know their dads. This story is not about dads and sons. It is about us and God. All of us DO have a father like that—He is God. He is looking for you. Each day He thinks, maybe today is the day he or she will return. He’s hoping. He’s looking. He’s wanting. He thinks about you more than you think about Him. He longs for you to be home. He wants you with Him.

And here we are. Many of us, most of us, have nothing to bring to God except ourselves. We’ve messed up. We’ve made big mistakes. We’ve wasted opportunity. We’ve sinned. All we can say is, “Father, I have sinned in your sight.” That’s what He wants you to say. He wants you home. He wants you to follow Him. He wants you to obey Him. He wants you to be a disciple of His Son. He has the best for you.

What an amazing Father. He’s yours. He is looking for you. Won’t you come home?

Roger