“God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us”
‘The Prodigal Father? either this guy didn’t attend Sunday School, or it was autocorrected’. This must be the thoughts running through your minds. No! it’s not a mistake and yes, I did attend Sunday school. It does sound different from what we are used to hearing. The story of the prodigal son is a story we all know, and it is a story that taught us a lot of lessons. For those who are still perplexed with the title, let’s take a walk down language lane.
The word prodigal comes from the Latin word ‘prodigus’ which has many meanings. One meaning which we all know is, ‘spending money or resources freely and recklessly’. This is the meaning which gave this story the title. But the world prodigal also has another meaning, it also means ‘giving something on a lavish scale’. When we hear the story, we relate it to the son, it is very much right but one factor we overlook is the father who was also prodigal. The greatest thing we see in this story is the fathers prodigal grace and love. The son left and abandoned him and his house and went to live a life on his own. But the father never gave up hope, he always waited for the son to return. When the son returned, the father embraced him with open arms, not thinking twice. That scenario overflows with the lavish grace and love the father poured on his son. The father never stopped or consider his past acts or judge him on his character, he runs to the son and receives him, forgetting everything the son has done unto him. We serve that father, the one who poured down grace and love so lavish, that we were just undeserving enemies who never deserved to know this grace. He loved us when we were still sinners. He shed his blood on the cross of Calvary for somebody who once despised him. If that isn’t love, then I don’t know what is!
Even now, we make mistake, we still do things that do not please God. But he still loves us, he still lavishly pours out his grace upon us. The love the Father poured out on us is extravagant, in human understandings, it does not make sense the way He loved us. When we look at this story from this different perspective we see the prodigal father who runs and embraces the lost son and lavishes his grace upon him. There is no greater assurance for a son, than knowing that he has a father who cares for him and lavishes him with love and grace overflowing. No matter which son you are, the elder or the younger, the one in the embrace or the one outside the celebration, remember if you have messed up, all you need to do is decide to return to the father. He is waiting there with open arms, waiting to run to you, embrace you and lavish you with his unconditional love.
The nail pierced hands are always wide open for the lost!