A Father's Love
Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38–39)
You are God’s precious child. You were uniquely created by Him. There is no one like you in the world, truly one of a kind, made for a purpose, not simply to just exist, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). That purpose is revealed when we draw near to God and enter into a relationship with Him. The more you know God, the more you will know yourself, and who God truly made you to be. He will reveal to you the reason you were created. Since God created you, wouldn’t He know what is best for you, even though you may think or feel otherwise? Human understanding and knowledge are limited. Human feelings are fickle and unstable no matter how strong you think they are. God sees the bigger picture, even when we can’t make sense of it all. His greatest desire, apart from wanting you to spend eternity with Him, is for you to fulfill your God-given purpose. There are so many different teachings and agendas in this world that will keep you from your ultimate purpose. You can still accomplish things separate from God—many people do—but are their full potential being reached? Many lack, even after they’ve accomplished their worldly goals and dreams. God has an amazing plan for you and He simply wants the best for you, “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived—the things God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
God’s love is evident throughout scripture. I could reference many biblical texts, but I’d like to focus on two stories. The first story is of a woman Jesus healed from a long-term sickness.
“A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ ‘You see the people crowding against you,’ his disciples answered, ‘and yet you can ask, Who touched me?’ But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at His feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering’” (Mark 5:24–34).
This woman was an outcast, deemed unclean by society because of her debilitating illness. According to her culture, she was an untouchable because of her constant bleeding. She had spent all she had on trying to cure her illness and was most likely homeless because no one, not even her own family, would accept her for what she had become. She suffered greatly, not just from the physical pain but the emotional pain of being unloved, having not heard any words of endearment toward her for the past twelve years. She was most likely to have been taunted and teased. But Jesus did not tell her to go away; He saw her great physical and emotional need. As He acknowledges her, He calls her “daughter.” This is the only scripturally recorded term of endearment uttered by Jesus, and it was said to someone the world had despised and rejected. This would have been the first time she would have heard an endearing term directed at her in twelve years. Not only did Jesus heal her physical pain, but He also healed her emotional pain. By calling her daughter, He removed any self-doubt and instilled a sense of dignity and value that even if no one else in the world saw her as precious, He did. The world may judge you, look down on you, reject you, and close friends and family may have mistreated you, but your heavenly father sees you, knows you, and loves you immensely. Nothing and no one can stop His love for you.
The second story is the well-known parable of the Prodigal Son, also known as the Lost Son.
“There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. But 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 son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate” (Luke 15:11–24).
The son demands his inherence. This was an insult to the father and was culturally unacceptable. It’s like saying to the father, “I wish you were dead.” Surprisingly, the father granted his request when he had every right to kick him out of his home and punish him. The rebellious son goes off and squanders his newfound wealth in wild living and loses everything he inherited. He comes to his senses and, filled with remorse, heads back home to his father to beg to be accepted as a slave. The father looks out on the horizon and sees his son, and although the story doesn’t say it, I wouldn’t be surprised if he looked for his son every day. Recognizing his figure and saunter, the father, filled with compassion, ran to him, hugged, and kissed him. He ran to the son that rejected him. In that culture, men didn’t run; it was seen as undignified. But this father didn’t care; his son was lost and is now found. In effect, he was saying, “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, I love you more.” The son admits his sin against his father. Apart from his confession, the father sees his repentance by his act of humility, returning to the father, seeking his care and love. The father does something even more amazing. He asks his servants to bring the best robe and put it on him, to put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. You see, the best robe would have been the father’s own robe, thus wrapping the son in the father’s love and restoring his identity. The ring would have been a signet ring with the family seal, meaning he represented the family once again and had equal authority in the family business. The sandals differentiated someone as a slave or a child; household slaves typically didn’t wear sandals. The father, by his actions, is reinstating his son as an heir. He then asked for the fatted calf that was being prepared for a momentous occasion to be used for his son’s return. He saw it as his son coming back to life from the dead, and there was a great feast and celebration.
In that time, when a son shamed and rebelled against their father’s authority, a cultural ceremony was conducted by the family, involving the community. This would mean the child was forever banished from that family and community. That’s probably why the father ran to the son, to get to him first before anyone else could. He quickly asked for the robe, ring, and sandals to be brought to them so the community could see and understand that the father accepted his son back. The feast wasn’t just a celebration of the son’s return but a further show of acceptance to the community that this child of his who rejected him was now received back as child and heir.
An amazing act of mercy, love, and forgiveness by the father. He didn’t lecture the child or bring him down in any way. He accepted his child back with open arms despite the disrespect he showed to him. If we’re honest, we’ve all been the prodigal at some point. We may not have gone as far as the son did in this story, but there were times we rebelled against God in our own way.
This isn’t just a nice story about a father and his wayward child. When Jesus told this parable, He spoke about God, the Father. You see, the father in this story is God, and the prodigal child is you; it’s me; it’s every man, woman, and child. No matter how far you’ve strayed from God, you can always return to Him. He’s there, waiting for you to return, but you’ve got to take the first step and turn your heart toward Him, and the moment you do that, He comes running to you.
Here’s a story that contrasts the sincere love of God as a father:
You have a child. When she reaches the age of comprehension, you explain to her, “I will set many rules for you to follow. Every single one must be obeyed. I expect you to excel in your education and receive nothing less than an A on every exam. Do not ever embarrass me or shame my name. I want you to gain a profession in the upper echelons of society—a lawyer, a doctor, or a politician. On my deathbed, I will review your life. If you follow my requests to the letter, I will accept you as my child.”
What type of parent would treat their child this way? Many words come to mind, but manipulative and unloving would be a start. A loving parent would not treat their child this way. It’s certainly not how God treats us. His love for us is not based on our performance. He loves us simply because He is our father, and we are His children. It doesn’t matter what you have done; you are and always will be God’s child. In the story of the Prodigal Son, I think it’s quite significant that the father would run to the son and not the other way around. It’s the only imagery written in the Bible of our heavenly father running, and he’s not running to a perfect, sinless child; rather, he is running to a rebellious child, someone you wouldn’t think deserves the father’s love or attention. But God, our Father, doesn’t see the sins and mistakes; He sees His precious child. The son thinks he will return as a slave because of the error of his ways, but the father is saying, “No, you are my dear child, an heir to all my glory.” This is the unfathomable, unconditional love of our heavenly father.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)