He Ran

Luke 15:20 NIV: “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 parable of the prodigal son is so familiar and used in sermons, devotionals, and studies that I will not pretend to bring anything new to it. To remind those unfamiliar with the story. A father had two sons, and the younger, itching to go live his own life, finagled his father to give him his inheritance early (by basically telling his father, ‘you are dead to me,’ as giving half of your estate to an heir while still living was not heard of in the Jewish culture). The young son did what you might expect and squandered his wealth in “loose and wild” living. Starving, ashamed, and desperate, he decided to slink back home and beg to be allowed to return as a servant. He knew there was no way he could ask to be a “son” again.

This is where we pick up the story for the image I wanted to depict in my piece this week. There are several things I love about the Father’s response. First, the father seemed to be waiting and watching for the son. Looking up at the house, you’ll see a rocking chair. I also put binoculars in the Father’s hands to illustrate the active and intentional anticipation.

Second, the Father’s initial reaction was a gut response. The Greek word for compassion is a physical gut yearning of love and kindness. There is no indication of an “I told you so” or “about time you came to your senses.”

Third, and this is my favorite, the Father ran to his son. The Greek word used, trecho’, isn’t a leisurely jog. It means running as quickly as possible with an intense desire to reach the goal.

To be clear, Jesus told this story to explain how God reacts to us. God is not an angry father eager to point out how we’ve messed up or fallen short. God does not try to punish us with silence or distance to ensure we feel bad about our decisions. He is waiting, longing for us to come to him, and the moment we decide to come home, he leaps up and sprints to us with nothing but love and joy to have us back.

If you read the whole story, after the reunion on the road, the Father throws a party to celebrate and welcomes his son back into full standing and relationship as heir. The slate is wiped completely clean as if it had never happened.

The meditation for this piece is to see if you can put yourself in the son’s position. Can you accept and feel God’s posture of unconditional love and excitement to have you as his child?