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Love From Afar
“But
while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with
compassion for him…Luke 15:20
For the past several
weeks, our Wednesday night bible study has been discussing the parable of the
prodigal son. And it appears we may
be studying it for the next several weeks…we just can’t get finished with
the great truths of what many believe is the greatest story ever told.
And you can put me in that group as well.
I just finished speaking at a revival in
Crossville
,
Alabama
. The first two sermons were on the
“prodigal son.” I am speaking
this Sunday at another church. The
text for the message? Well, the
“prodigal son,” of course!! When
it finally gets in my brain, its really hard to get it out!
The parable of Jesus seems to contain all the great truths we so desperately
need to hear. But more than any
other, it reveals the truth of the unconditional love of God, represented by the
father of the story. Not only did
this youngest son insult his father by asking for his inheritance before
the father’s death…he squandered it all in a far country.
It was in that far country he found himself in need.
And there in the middle of the pigpen, he “came to himself” and
decided to return home.
A phrase we often pass over in this story is “while he was still a long way
off, his father saw him.” It
implies that the father probably looked for his son’s return everyday.
I can easily picture this scene in my mind…the father working in the
field or around the house, never missing the chance to look down the road…the
road his son walked away on. And on
each of those days, the father anticipates that one special day when he would
look and see his son coming home…home where he belonged.
The power of that image comes from knowing that God is always waiting…always
looking for us…looking for us…hoping and patiently waiting for that day when
we too return to Him. This image
does not depict a vengeful God…it does not show an “I told you so” God.
Instead, it shows the patient and unconditional love of God for each of
us. The fact that the God of this
universe is waiting for me…He is looking for me…well, that almost more than
I can comprehend. He waits…He
waits for me!
I know, we all know, that feeling of waiting.
We stand in our lives and we look off in the distance…we wait…we
hope. We want to love
unconditionally, but our humanness stands in the way.
We focus on ourselves…on our loss.
We become impatient. But
God’s love is perfect. It is
selfless…sacrificial…unconditional.
First Corinthians 13 states “love is patient.”
And so…God is patient for God is love.
He waits and when we come, He sees us from afar because He’s been
looking for us. He runs to us…He
embraces us, and He welcomes us home.
The greatest love of all in the greatest story ever told;
and now its our turn…our turn to understand God’s love for us…our
turn to love like that… to
love like that…patiently…from afar… loving others like God loves us.
And that is always the goal…isn’t it.
Thanks be to God for His unconditional love for us and for His strength to love
others.
In Christ's
Love,
Billy
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