Something stood out to me in my teacher's material from yesterday's Sunday School lesson that I can't help but to share today . . .
This passage from the material was actually only loosely connected to what the lesson was about (expectantly waiting for God's promises to be fulfilled), but this little paragraph had far more impact on my heart than the lesson itself.
The writer of the teacher's material wrote of the Parable of the Prodigal Son:
The parable's focus is not so much on the lost son - actually, the two lost sons - as it is on the loving father. The parable's key well may Jesus' statement that the waiting father - symbolic of God - saw his returning son in the distance and was "filled with compassion" (Luke 15:20). In my prayers, I repeatedly thank God for Jesus' revelation that at heart, the Father is deeply compassionate.
In the amplified version, verse 20 reads
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity and tenderness for him; and he ran and embraced him and kissed him fervently.
I mean, what kind of crazy love is this?
When I've been off squandering my inheritance and serving the Kingdom of Megan rather than the Kingdom of God, when I come to my senses and realize I've been starving myself of the Bread of Life, when I put my foot on the road back to my Father's presence, I sometimes believe the lie that my Father awaits my return with pursed lips and disappointment.
Or worse yet, with a turned shoulder and The Silent Treatment.
Oh, but this is not so.
In speaking of the heart of the Waiting Father, Jesus tells us that our Father God is filled with compassion, compelled by so much tender pity for His wayward child that He races down that road of redemption with shouts of celebration.
The second candle of Advent is lit that we might reflect on the Father's love. The empty places in my heart and mind seek to be quenched with this truth all week long.
God is love. God is love. God is love.
Unthinkable, unspeakable, magnificent, exuberant, ridiculous, staggering, confusing, consuming, pursuing, relentless love.
Comments closed.
