Dad-Beats: Love Through the Lens of a Father

A man had two sons. One of those sons, full of moxie and a thirst for life, makes an unusual request to his Father. He asks of his Father to receive his portion of an inheritance. The request was somewhat odd because inheritances were usually distributed upon or near death. Nevertheless, the Father doesn't think twice and grants the son exactly what he had requested. Apparently satisfied, that son gathered all that was his and departed a very long way from home.

However, that son fell into the clutches of a perfect storm: a storm that occurs when the consequences of one's own poor decisions intersect with a circumstance that is far beyond one's own control. Things get so bad that the son finds himself in a very desperate situation that betrays both his formative history and his culture. Through a series of unfortunate events, this once well to do young man now resides in a pig's pen.

Though this young man has strayed far away in distance, he finds a way to return back to himself. I've heard it preached before that the longest journey a person will ever take in life is when that person comes to themselves. His heart reminisces of a time prior when he was in his Father's house. He begins to prepare a speech such that His Father would accept him back again. The young man arose from the pig's pen and began to make his way back home.

Interestingly, while the son was still a long way from his destination, the Father, who had apparently been waiting for his son to return, catches a glimpse of his little boy in the horizon. Like gravity pulling on two approaching bodies, the Father, who had done no wrong, runs to greet his long-lost child. Though the filthy son had prepared and practiced a lengthy apology along the way, the Father appears not to care about where his son had been and what his son had done. The righteous Father falls down on his face and kisses his dirty and disobedient child. The Dad appeared only to care that his son had returned back home to Him. The observation that the Father ordered his servants to bring forth the best clothes for his child suggested that the Father knew exactly what to do with a little dirt.

You may recognize this story as "the Prodigal Son", but I believe that this is a misnomer. This story has less to do with the folly of a foolish child, and much more to do with the patience of a Loving Father.

Jesus is telling this story in Luke chapter 15:11–32 to illustrate the Father's Love for His children — even when they had gone astray. If we rewind back to verses 1–7 of the same chapter, it explains the scenario that prompted the two parables that would immediately follow. Essentially, the Pharisees were wondering why Jesus spent so much time hanging out with "sinners" (v1). We live in a time where many persons of faith and institutions of faith alike are caught up pointing out how clean one's laundry is compared to the next; sometimes these same persons and institutions paint a picture of an angry God that hates his most prized creation. However, in this passage Jesus paints a picture of a Loving Father — who waits patiently for even one of His children to return back home.

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A Call to Action

No matter where you are in life and no matter what you have done in life, I want to remind you on today that your Heavenly Father is waiting patiently for you to come back home. This passage suggests that the Father is more interested in a heart that is facing Him, than either the distance strayed, or dirt acquired along the way. God is Love and Love is Patient.

1 Corinthians 13:4–8 (NIV)

(v4) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (v5) It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (v6) Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (v7) It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (v8) Love NEVER fails.

— Marcus Rushing, MD
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