Key scripture – “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 older brother became angry and refused to go in. . . . “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found'” (Luke 15:20, 28, 31-32).

If you want to understand who God, the Father is, you need to read this parable that Jesus told.

Jesus offers a stunning portrait of a father who responds to the appalling behavior of two sons in a way no Middle Eastern patriarch would have responded.

Author, Ann Spangler, explains that, in Jesus’ time the Jewish community had a way of punishing sons who lost the family inheritance, by squandering it among Gentiles. Angry villagers would gather together to conduct what was known as a qetsatsah ceremony, a ritual that consisted of filling a large pot with burned nuts and burned corn and then breaking it in front of the guilty party. As the earthenware pot shattered, the villagers would shout: “So-and-so is cut off from his people.” That would be the cue for the errant son to get out of town for good.

Remarkably, the father in Jesus’ story failed to act as his listeners expected. Instead of waiting at home for his prodigal son to come crawling back, as any dignified Middle Eastern father would have done, the father in Jesus’ parable keeps a lookout for him. As soon as he spots his son, he runs out and throws his arms around his wayward son, showering him with kisses.

By acting quickly and with so much tenderness, the father effectively prevents his neighbors from organizing a qetsatsah ceremony to cut off his son.

Kenneth Bailey, a theologian who has lived most of his life in the Middle East, explains how astonishing such a sight would have been: Traditional Middle Easterners, wearing long robes, do not run in public. They never have. To do so would be deeply humiliating. The father in this story runs knowing, that in so doing, he will deflect the attention of the community away from his ragged son to himself. People will focus instead on the extraordinary sight of a distinguished, self-respecting landowner humiliating himself in public by running down the road revealing his legs.

But what of the older son, angered by his father’s acceptance of his foolish younger brother? Once again, Jesus depicts the father in a way that would have surprised his listeners. Instead of slapping his son and publicly rebuking him for refusing to attend the celebration, the father humbles himself by leaving the feast in order to reach out to his angry son.

Both sons, one a law breaker and the other a law keeper, had publicly offended their father by their selfish behavior. Both were offered by their father, not what they deserved but what they needed—extraordinary grace from a father who loved them.

Ask yourself today whether you are more like the older or the younger of these sons. Then thank God for treating you, not as you deserve to be treated, but as a child worthy of His Faithful, Fatherly Love and Grace.

Pray this – Our Precious Heavenly Father, I praise you for the Fatherly Love that You pour out on me so generously. Thank You for being my Father. Thank You that Your goodness and love that follow me all the days of my life. Forgive me for the times in my life when I thought I could earn my way into Your good graces. I know the only way is by believing and proclaiming Jesus as my Lord and Savior. As I go through this day and all the other days of my life, give me the wisdom to understand and always see You as my Loving Father and to always remember “… that 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). Thank You Father for always forgiving me, loving me, and accepting me with open arms. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.