Our Forgiving Father: Part 5–Welcome Home!

“Our Forgiving Father”—Luke 15

Part 5: “Welcome Home!”

Welcome: Thanks for reading my Passion Week blog series as we reflect together on Our Forgiving Father. Today in Part 5, we hear the words our heart longs for from our heavenly Father, “Welcome home!” When we put our ear to the chest of Christ we hear the heartbeat of God—the heartbeat of our Forgiving Father.

Part 5: “Welcome Home!”: Luke 15:20-32

Our Forgiving Father Embraces Us: Luke 15:20

Jesus continues describing the father’s response to his prodigal son who has come home. The father sees his son, is filled with compassion, runs to him, throws his arms around him, and kisses him repeatedly! This is not the biblical image of God that most Christians maintain. Somehow we have bought the lie that God is aloof, non-passionate, non-relational.

Many have no recollection of their earthly father ever lavishing them with such a display of unshackled affection. We long for it, but it is foreign to us. So it seems strange for us to imagine the God of the universe racing to us passionately, overjoyed and delighted to see us, clinging to our neck to embrace us, eagerly throwing Himself upon us, pressing His chest close to ours, and kissing us repeatedly—covering us with kisses.

I don’t know about you, but at times I find this hard to fathom. When I’m honest, I can admit that I feel like my former counselee—some of my sins just seem too deep even for the love of God to reach them. I feel like Bill Munny—guilty but unforgiven.

That’s why throughout this parable, Jesus is saying to us, “Look, look at the Father! Look at Him for the first time all over again. This is why I died. This is why I rose again. The Father longed to build a bridge over which He could run to you, and throw His arms around you, embracing you, encompassing, engulfing you with His forgiving love!”

Our Forgiving Father Celebrates With Us: Luke 15:22-32

The greatest artist Who ever lived readies His brush to paint the final scene in the greatest story ever told. It is the scene depicting our celebration with our forgiving Father. No less than ten times in this one chapter, we discover words for celebration. Tony Campolo is right when he proclaims that “the Kingdom of God is a party!” The father is beside himself with glee. There’s music and there’s dancing. Jesus paints His Father’s portrait in vivid, living colors. Splashes of joy here. Gallons of cheer over there. Broad brush strokes of rejoicing all over the canvas. The father even tells the older son that they had to celebrate and be glad.

There are few things our sovereign God “has” to do, but celebration is one of them—it is central to His very nature to rejoice when a sinner has come home. Our forgiving Father will not stifle His joy!

We’re astonished at the thought that God has a good time. This party in Luke 15 stuns both sons. The younger son, the prodigal as we know him, is a lot like you and me. We mess up, and then we rehearse our imaginary dialogue in our minds—a dialogue of shame. The prodigal practices his speech all the way home. “I’ve sinned against you and I’m unworthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” He repeats it over and over again like a never ending round. The hired servants occupied the lowest rung on the relational totem poll of the day. The son is saying, “I am not only not worthy to be your son, I’m not worthy to be your slave, or your servant even. I am only worthy of being your temporary hired servant.”

So ingrained is his unworthiness in his soul, that he gives his entire speech to his father! His father has raced out to him, is kissing him and celebrating over him, and this guy is still droning on with his speech. “I—–am—–not—–worthy. . .” The father reacts! “Forget that! 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” (15:22-24). The father is saying, “The guest of honor at my party is my son, not my hired servant.” The Father prepares a celebration reserved for His most special of guests: you and me whenever we return home.

The Rest of the Story: The Big Question—“Who Do I Have to Forgive Me?”

As we wait for the other shoe to drop, realize it already dropped on Christ. As we wait for the hammer to fall, realize it already fell on Christ. We are restored, and as a result, we have peace with God. We are all prodigal sons and daughters, and yet not disinherited. We have received our portion, misspent it, but not been denied it. We are God’s tenants here, He is our landlord, pays our rent, not yearly, nor monthly, but hourly, and quarterly; every minute He renews His mercy.

Marghanita Laski, secular humanist and novelist, wrote just before her death in 1988, “What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness; I have nobody to forgive me.”

Whenever we return home, we have Somebody to forgive us. Like an irresistible magnet, the forgiving heart of our Father draws us home—home to celebrate. Put your ear to the chest of Christ to hear the heartbeat of God—the heartbeat of our Forgiving Father.

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Do you have anybody to forgive you?