The embrace of the Father.
Of course this parable reaches me, as most readings with a "father-figure" metaphor usually do. Having been abandoned by my own dad and subsequently blaming him for all of my problems, I find comfort in knowing that Our Father God is always there for me. Regardless of how much we think our lives are ruined, or how much we may have sinned and turned away from God, He doesn't remember any of that nonsense. Just as a human father would, when his child is crying for help, the Lord comes running and takes us in His mighty arms. Some people get so far from this way of thinking (including me at one time), that we think God is recording all of our mistakes and sins, and before He comes to our assistance, He refers to some list of bad things we've done to check if we're deserving or not. This is something that we come up with in our minds, and is a tool of the Enemy, who would like nothing better than to keep us from going back to the Father's love.
The thing to remember is that once you've asked forgiveness for a sin or mistake in life, that it is immediately and forever reconciled by our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We need to let those things go. Instead of giving it to God, we allow the Enemy to make us think that our identity revolves around our past, including all of the errors we've made along the way. This in incorrect thinking, and we need to just rest in Jesus and allow Him to take that burden off of our shoulders.
By no means does this give us free reign to sin with impunity. That would just be taking advantage of God's mercy and is also a sign of incorrect thinking. On the contrary; the more we think about moving closer to God, and keeping a righteous consciousness, the less we will find the occasion to sin coming up to begin with. It's a very simple idea to be honest, but it takes a lot of work and perseverance to reach the level of spiritual maturity required to grasp it.
So no matter how badly you think you've messed up your life, or how much you say, "I've gone too far, I'm beyond help.", just remember that the Lord God is a loving father like the one in Christ's parable. No matter how much you've screwed up, or how much distance there is to travel, God is waiting for you, and He will come running to you. He will take you in His arms and celebrate your return to His embrace. Once you are back in His care, the Lord will bring your life back to abundance, as if you'd never left.
So call out to God... He's waiting for you to come home.
Created over 2 years ago
