“The Patient, Understanding, Loving, Forgiving, and Accepting Father.”

“Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.” (The Father of the Lost Son: Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 15; NKJV).

If your Bible has headings above certain paragraphs of Scripture the heading for this account may be, “The Parable of the Lost Son”, or “The Prodigal Son.” The story is about a lost son but more importantly, a forgiving father. The headings should read, “The Patient, Understanding, Loving, Forgiving, and Accepting Father.” Kind of a long heading but more fitting I think. Without intent we sometimes glorify the son as the hero in this story. The child that left home, got in with the wrong crowd, ran out of money and people to care for him, came to his senses, then returned home. Good move on his part but not to be glorified. After all he should have stayed home, obeyed his father, and then the inheritance would have been his anyway. Bad choices always lead to bad consequences. If the boy got what he deserved to start with, why not at the end? Because of the patient, understanding, loving, forgiving, and accepting father that he had.

Jesus did not tell this parable to glorify the son but the father. All we like sheep have gone astray the Bible teaches. There is nothing praiseworthy about going away and coming back. The son was not restored because he came back; he was restored because the father received him. The other son in the story did not think much of his actions and let it be known. “He chose to leave on his own and now comes crawling back to you and you take him back like nothing ever happened!” Could have been what the other son might have thought.

The father loved them both; equally. Jesus wanted us, His listeners, to know that is how God feels toward us. Many of us have come crawling to God have we not? At times when we suffered illness or bereavement, relationship issues or financial struggles, addictions or convictions of crimes? Jesus says we can depend on the Father to receive us just as he did the kid in the parable. Jesus says not to let what others think keep us from Him. Jesus says ditch the pride in the pigpen and come to the Father. Jesus says the Father is watching for us too.

How about you today? As you survey your life perhaps you may discover you are in a pigpen. Crawl over the fence, get on your knees, and call out to the Father. He loves you as much as He does anyone. He will embrace you because He is, “The Patient, Understanding, Loving, Forgiving, and Accepting Father.”