The Father’s Heart

The Prodigal Son is a parable just about everyone has heard. We know how one son asked for his inheritance early and left home to go see the world. Like a lot of people who have won the lottery, he thought the money was unending. He spent it on frivolous things and soon the money ran out while he was far from home. With a famine in the land, he found it hard to find work or food. He soon was breaking the Jewish customs and sacrificing what he believed just so he could eat. He decided that he was better off going home and being a servant of his father’s than to be in his current predicament. While he was a long way away, the father saw him, ran to him, celebrated his return and threw a party. The older son, who was working the fields heard the commotion, found out what was happening and grew angry about it.

In this story, we like to identify with the son who left home and was welcomed back. We love knowing our Heavenly Father is looking for us and will welcome us back no matter what we’ve done. The story is about the older son too. He’s the one who stayed doing what he was supposed to. He’s the one who didn’t lose all his father had worked for. Yet he was the one out of everyone who was angry that a big deal was being made about his brother who had wasted his inheritance. He didn’t like that his brother’s poor behavior was being celebrated. He lost sight that it wasn’t a celebration of bad decisions, but that the brother had made a right one after so many wrong ones. He had returned to where he belonged.

Have you ever thought how different that story would have turned out if it had been the older brother on the porch rather than the father? Would he have sent his own brother away? It’s so important that you and I have our Heavenly Father’s heart. We should celebrate like Heaven does when the lost find their way home. We should welcome people with open arms when they’ve reached the end of their rope and have a repentant heart. Matthew 18:14 says, “Now you should understand that it is never the desire of your heavenly Father that a single one of these humble believers should be lost” (TPT). The Father’s heart is that no one should be lost, so He rejoices when one is found. It’s time we all shared his love for the lost and rejoice with Him in these moments.

Photo by Anna Claire Schellenberg on Unsplash