THE FATHER’S LOVE
An 85-year-old man was
sitting on a park bench crying. Two men passing by saw the tears running down
his cheeks and walked over to see if they could be of any help.
“I don’t mean to intrude,”
one of them said, “but is there something wrong at home?”
The 85-year-old replied
between sobs, “No, everything is fine there. I have a beautiful home with a
landscaped backyard and a swimming pool. I have a wonderful wife who is much
younger than I. She’s a superb cook, treats me a like a king, and is always
attentive to my needs.”
One of the passers-by asked,
“Well then, why in heaven’s name are you crying?”
The old man replied, “I
can’t remember where I live!”
An imaginary tale, of
course, but I like this little story as a metaphor for where many people are
spiritually. They have lost their way and can’t remember where their true home
is.
Jesus takes the story to the
next level in his parable of the Prodigal Son. In this story, Jesus lets us
know how easy it is to find our way back home.
In Jesus’ story, a man has
two sons. The older son is loyal to his father and works hard at home. The
younger son, by contrast, takes his share of the family inheritance, leaves
home and squanders it on loose living. Eventually, he is reduced to working on
a pig farm and so hungry he wishes he could eat some of what he was feeding the
pigs. He finally decides he wants to go home, but assumes that the only way his
father might accept him back would be as a hired hand.
Luke tells us that “…while
he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion
for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” The
father not only takes him back unconditionally, and as a son, not as a hired
hand, but also throws a big party in his honor.
From the perspective of the
older brother, the loyal one, this is grossly unfair. If we are really honest,
we have to agree with the older brother. Where was the big party for
faithfulness and loyalty? Why does the great honor go to the unfaithful kid who
comes crawling back home in poverty after totally dishonoring his father and
his family?
Well, if we think about it,
we can see ourselves in each of the two sons. We are lost and on our journey
home, hoping our heavenly Father will forgive us and take us back, and we are
smugly sitting in judgment of our fellow human beings whom we think are worse
sinners than we are.
Jesus wants us to know that
his Father, our Father, loves both his sons, and invites both of them into his
banquet. Life in God’s household is a
life surrounded by love, and that includes a whole lot of mercy – mercy we can
absolutely count on.
The apostle Peter wrote: “Praise
be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In his great mercy he has given us new birth
into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in
heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until
the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time”
(1Peter 1:1-3).
Tomorrow belongs to God. We
cannot read the conditions of time and space into the unknown eternal. But
within the limits of our finite understanding, Jesus gives us in this unlikely
parable a window through which we can glimpse the infinite nature of our
Father’s love, compassion, forgiveness and mercy.
I’m Joseph Tkach, speaking
of life.