“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” Luke 15:20
This verse from the parable of the prodigal son, spoken by Jesus to the Pharisees and scribes after their persistent complaints about the company that Jesus was keeping, is incredibly revealing regarding the nature of > the Father and the foundations of the Kingdom of God. The imagery contained within this verse is astounding and incredibly challenging.
“But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him.... What a picture of faith, hope and expectation. In my mind’s eye, I have this image of that no matter where the father is, or what he is doing, his eyes are constantly returning to the path his son must travel to return home. What are we looking for? What do our eyes constantly return to? It would seem to me, that for many, our eyes are not on the lost or those made destitute by prodigal living. Our eyes are on our own selfish desires – constantly looking for a blessing, success, power, anointing and recognition – our eyes rarely stray from ourselves. The father could have allowed himself to be consumed by despair, heartache and a crushing sense of failure – and I’ve no doubt that these emotions visited him – but he still chose to watch the road knowing that his son would return! How incredible is the fathers love! For when “he was still a great way off...” - most of us make judgements about where people are at – and even make it sound spiritual by saying “They are close to the kingdom”, but the father saw his son when he was a great way off – oh, that we may have faith to see even when they are a long way off.
“His father saw him and had compassion, and ran....” The son is still a long way off, but the father saw him and had compassion. How far have we moved from that place of compassion both corporately as churches and as individuals? Do you see the world as an evil place full of sinners and retreat to your own safe place of personal salvation and righteousness that leads to judgement and fear or do you see the world through the eyes of compassion looking not with fear or condemnation but faith love, and grace, expecting the opportunity to participate in kingdom transformations with individual lives and communities? How can we have strayed so far from ambassadorship to the gatekeepers of righteousness - policemen, judges and executioners rather than advocates, servants and mediators? The father ran.... He saw, was moved with compassion and ran. What a picture of the heart of the Father!!! The father didn’t make a hesitant step forward, he didn’t think of his own position, his own heartache or his overwhelming disappointment in his son – he simply ran to him... Hallelujah!! What a Father we have!!
How can we reach what we fear? James Baldwin an American civil rights leader once said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced”. Dear friends I believe it is time that we returned to the foundations of the Kingdom – Its time we faced our religious rhetoric, our ivory towers and our golden calves and found our hearts stirred into action by compassion, our eyes focused again on the things that our Heavenly Father deems as priority - PEOPLE! May we as Gods people emulate the father of the prodigal son and see those Christ came to redeem plucked from prodigal obscurity and restored to the Kingdom of Gods amazing love!
May 2009 be a year of Harvest for the Kingdom of God. May your family find reconciliation - May your prodigals return home and may your eyes see the world as that of the Father – in Jesus Name!
Much love and blessing to each of you our faithful and fruitful friends.
Jeffrey