| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Knowing God” Our Bible verse for today: “But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.” Luke 15:20 (CSB) Our thought for today: “He is a good, good Father” Have you heard the song by Christian singer / songwriter Chris Tomlin called, “Good, Good Father”? I encourage you to take a few minutes to listen to it. You can Google it or click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ak0OoFBw3c It’s a beautiful song which reminds us of what a warm, loving, kind, compassionate, and merciful Father we have in Heaven. Listening to that song now will set the tone for the rest of what I want us to think about this morning. In yesterday’s devotional I noted that in addition to coming to earth to die upon the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, another reason Jesus came was to live among us and to help us better understand who our Heavenly Father is and what He is like. Probably my favorite parable from Jesus which shows us the Father is the story of the Prodigal Son, found in Luke 15:11-32. In that story we’re introduced to a rebellious son (sometimes me and you), and to another son who is cold and hard (also sometimes me and you), and to a loving, kind, and compassionate father (God). At one point the rebellious son gathers up all that is his, leaves home, and goes off to live a life of sex, drugs, and rock and roll (or the first-century equivalent). Finally, this younger son, stuck deep in the muck and mire of life, comes to his senses and decides to go home to his father, ask for forgiveness, and offer himself to his father as a slave. His thinking was that his father deserved a much better son than he had been and because of what he did he was completely unworthy of even being called a child of the father – much less enjoying the privileges of being part of his family. But we discover that the father didn’t see it that way at all. It turns out that the Father had been deeply concerned about his missing son. Each day he had scanned the horizon praying and hoping that one day his son would return to him; and when that day came, that honored, dignified, highly respected father hiked up his robe, tucked it between his legs, and ran down the road to embrace his son and welcome him home. Such a scene would have been shocking in that culture. Men of his stature didn’t hike up their robes, and they didn’t run, and they didn’t simply welcome back a rebellious child like that. But the point of Jesus’ story is that our Father in heaven loves us that much. He is that concerned about us, He wants us back with Him, and He will forgive us and welcome us home. He is a good, good Father. He is kind, compassionate, merciful, and forgiving. He loves us. Do you know Him like that? I hope you do because that is who He is, and that’s why Jesus told this story about Him, so you can know Him like that. God Bless, Pastor Jim |
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