He Comes Running

God speaks to me in many ways, as I’m sure He does to you, too. This morning I had set my worship songlist playing and had not even got as far as opening my Bible or barely started to pray, when I heard the words of the song “You came running down my prodigal road; you came running with a ring and a robe” (from “Abba” by Jonathan David & Melissa Helser – link here)

I wasn’t feeling particularly ‘prodigal’ – to my knowledge I hadn’t rebelled against God or been trying to make my own way particularly… I had only just woken up! But God took those words and breathed His love into my spirit through them, and reminded me that at the very moment that we set our heart towards Him, He instantly responds by running towards us to welcome us into His presence.

There are many Bible verses that talk about how he loves to respond when we seek Him:

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8)
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer 29:13)
“I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me” (Prov 8:17)
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near” (Is 55:6)
“you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deut 4:29)

It’s worth noting that most of these Scriptures show that we need to be seeking God diligently, earnestly, whole-heartedly. We’re not just talking about a whim here – we’re talking about desiring to be with God above all else. But He is always on the watch to notice when our hearts are fully turned to Him. Then He runs to welcome us! He doesn’t just gradually or hesitantly approach, waiting to see if we are going to change our minds again – He runs!

The parable that the song refers to is found in Luke 15:11-32, and although many versions call it the parable of ‘the Prodigal Son’, I like the Passion Translation which calls it the parable of ‘the Loving Father’ – because the point of Jesus’ story was not to major on the son’s behaviour but to show us our Heavenly Father’s love and forgiveness even in the face of our human rejection and shame…
This is highlighted in verse 20 which says “From a long distance away, his father saw him coming, dressed as a beggar, and great compassion swelled up in his heart for his son who was returning home. So the father raced out to meet him. He swept him up in his arms, hugged him dearly, and kissed him over and over with tender love”

In the culture of the day when Jesus told this parable it was a shameful, undignified thing for a grown man – particularly one of age and stature – to run. But as a picture of our perfectly loving Heavenly Father, it shows that His love for us goes beyond what is considered to be polite or reserved. His heart of love will not be restrained in any way.

And it doesn’t end there: once the son had been welcomed back into the arms of his father, he started to recite the words he had prepared in verses 18&19 – but his loving father couldn’t have cared less, interrupting his penitent speech to lavish him with a robe – the father’s own robe – to cover his shame, a ring to restore the son’s status that the son himself had rejected, and sandals to restore him from slavery… and then ordered a feast to publicly celebrate the return of his son!

“Then the son said, ‘Father, I was wrong. I have sinned against you. I could never deserve to be called your son. Just let me be—’
The father interrupted and said, ‘Son, you’re home now!’
Turning to his servants, the father said, ‘Quick, bring me the best robe, my very own robe, and I will place it on his shoulders. Bring the ring, the seal of sonship, and I will put it on his finger. And bring out the best shoes you can find for my son.  Let’s prepare a great feast and celebrate.”

Even when we haven’t been particularly wayward, turning our backs on God and/ or indulging in rebellious behaviour, it is a sad truth that none of us are perfect. We are accepted as such because we are in Christ. But just like the prodigal son who had to fight through guilt, shame and condemnation to make his way home, we often can get trapped into feeling somehow not good enough. If we focus on our own behaviour we can allow unworthiness to hold us back and not approach God with confidence. But this parable reminds us of the truth expressed in Heb 4:16, that we can “come freely and boldly to where love is enthroned, to receive mercy’s kiss and discover the grace we urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness” – because we know that whatever we struggle with, and whoever we have become, the second we set our hearts fully towards our Father, He comes running!

Finally: one last point that I noticed in this story. In calling it ‘the Parable of the Prodigal Son’, the eldest, faithful son is reduced to a bit-part, almost an after-thought. But as ‘the Parable of the Loving Father’ – of two sons, not just the prodigal one – the father’s responses to both sons become equally important. And it’s ironic how many people can read and accept the prodigal’s shocking behaviour (because he ultimately repents), only to condemn the elder brother for being judgemental. But I think most of us have some of each brother in us. We all have areas where we fall greatly short and feel condemned and unworthy – but we also, especially if we have been Christians for a while, often veer into areas of pride if we managed to behave well and somehow feel we deserve God’s approval. It’s actually much harder to spot the latter attitude in our hearts, but look how Father God responds to self-righteousness (which is every bit as toxic as blatant sin) in verse 28:

“The older son became angry and refused to go in and celebrate. So his father came out and pleaded with him, ‘Come and enjoy the feast with us!’ ”

For the son of the host to refuse to enter a public feast was enormously shameful. it was his turn to reject his father and expose Him to ridicule. We all think we know how Jesus felt about the self-righteous Pharisees – He told them off, right? And rejected their faith in their own good works. But have we understood correctly? Look at the father’s response: he CAME OUT and PLEADED with the elder son. He left the feast – again, not caring for convention or politeness which dictated that he should stay with his guests – and he pleaded with his firstborn to also be restored to sonship. You see, both sons fell short of grace in different ways, and both needed to be restored to a place where they realised that neither their bad deeds or their good ones could change their sonship. Only their hearts could separate them from the father, but even when each of them rejected Him, He came after both of them, longing for restoration.

So I hope that you will be encouraged today: whether you feel unworthy of God’s love or whether you have been tricked into thinking you somehow deserve it, neither are true. And actually neither are relevant. All that matters is that you fully set your heart towards Him today – and then just watch to see Him come running!