APRIL 20, 2015
A Father Who
Runs
The
Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. —Luke 19:10
Read:
Luke
15:11-24
Every day a father
craned his neck to look toward the distant road, waiting for his son’s return.
And every night he went to bed disappointed. But one day, a speck appeared. A
lonesome silhouette stood against the crimson sky. Could that be
my son? the father wondered.
Then he caught sight of the familiar saunter. Yes, that has
to be my son!
And so while the son was “still a great way off, his father saw
him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke
15:20). It is remarkable that the family patriarch did something that was
considered undignified in Middle Eastern culture—he ran to meet his son. The father
was full of unbridled joy at his son’s return.
The son didn’t deserve such a reception. When he had asked his
father for his share of the inheritance and left home, it was as if he had
wished his father dead. But despite all that the son had done to his father, he
was still his son (v.24).
This parable reminds me that I’m accepted by God because of His
grace, not because of my merits. It assures me that I’ll never sink so deep
that God’s grace can’t reach me. Our heavenly Father is waiting to run to us
with open arms.
Father, I’m so
grateful for all Your Son did for me at the cross. I’m thankful for grace. I
offer You a heart that desires to be like Jesus—merciful and gracious.
We deserve punishment
and get forgiveness; we deserve God’s wrath and get God’s love. —Philip Yancey
INSIGHT:
The parables of Luke 15 deal with recovering what was lost. In verses 3-7 the
search is for a lost sheep; in verses 8-10, a lost coin; in verses 11-24, a
lost son. Each time the emphasis is on the sense of urgency of the one who is
searching.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2012