“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.” (Luke 15:20 NIV)
The Parable of the Lost Son – and/or the day God ran! (Luke 15:11-24)
This is a wonderful parable that Jesus told about a son who asked his father for his inheritance. He then departed for foreign lands where he squandered his money on wild living until it was all gone. Finally, after losing everything including all his friends, he became so desperate that he took a job feeding pigs and he was so hungry that he was tempted to eat the pig slop. He then came to his senses, changed his attitude, realized his sinfulness towards his father, and decided to go home. He planned to ask his father for a servant’s job.
But, according to the story, his father saw him a long way off, had great compassion for him, and ran towards his son with great joy!
God ran! And, that’s how God is towards us!
This parable is meant to teach us about God’s great love and compassion towards us. The young man in the story represents us, and the father in the story represents God. Notice that the father “saw the son afar off, and ran towards him.” God ran! And, that’s how God is towards us! He sees us “afar off, runs toward us, with great compassion!” Another verse says it this way, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8 NIV)
Here is another fun version of the prodigal son with a lot of letter F’s. Enjoy!
Feeling footloose and frisky, a feather-brained fellow forced his fond father to fork over the farthings.
He then fled far to foreign fields and frittered his fortune, feasting fabulously with faithless friends.
Fleeced by his fellows in folly, and finally facing famine, he found himself a feed-flinger in a filthy farmyard.
Feeling frail and fairly famished he fain would have filled his frame with the foraged foods of farmyard fodder fragments.
‘Fooey’, he figured, ‘My father’s flunkies fare far finer.” The frazzled fugitive fumed feverishly, frankly facing facts.
Frustrated by failure and filled with foreboding, he forthwith fled the foreign farmyard, back to his family.
From faraway, the father focused on the fretful familiar form on the horizon and flew to him and fondly flung his forearms around the fugitive.
Falling at his father’s feet, he floundered forlornly, ‘Father, I have flunked and fruitlessly forfeited family favor.’
But the faithful father, forestalling further flinching frantically flagged a field hand. ‘Fetch forth the finest fatling and fix a feast.’
The fugitive is found! “Unfurl the flags, with fanfares flaring! Let fun and frolic freely flow!”
“Former failure is forgotten, folly is forsaken! And forgiveness forms the foundation for future fortitude.”
Therefore…
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isa. 55:7 ESV)
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph. 4:32 ESV)
“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” (Col. 3:13 ESV)
“Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Matt. 18:21-22 ESV)
Quote:
“The difference between mercy and grace? Mercy gave the prodigal son a second chance. Grace gave him a feast.” - Max Lucado