God initiates salvation. The plan is so radical that it feels otherworldly. Salvation is complete and God’s embrace shows His desire to know us as His beloved children. No matter what you have done the Father stands ready to embrace and redeem. That flies in the face of what many of us have experienced in love relationships. But that is exactly the picture that Scripture paints in the story of the Prodigal Son. The son rebelled, sinned, and suffered the horrible consequences of his actions. The son realized his sin and in humble desperation decided to throw himself at the mercy of his father. Clearly the sins of the son would cause him to lose the daily privileges of being a son. But this passage tells us that nothing had changed in how the father viewed his son. The son was sure his behavior had estranged him from his father. The imagery is compelling. The father runs to him. That
Continue reading...
It feels like the pandemic has affected everything in 2020. Even the most “wonderful time of the year” is feeling a little different. Some items are in short supply. Gatherings are uncertain. Covid-19 fatigue is real and pervasive. Which makes my gift suggestion even more critical for this season. Why not give others the gift of extravagant grace? Everyone needs grace and God can supply an infinite supply if we simply ask Him. One of the most compelling illustrations of God’s extravagant grace is the story of the Prodigal Son. The son rebelled, sinned, and suffered the horrible consequences of his actions. The son realized his sin and in humble desperation decides to throw himself on the mercy of his father, believing he had lost all his privileges of being a son. But nothing had changed for his father. It reads like a Hollywood story of tear-jerking redemption. A child who is lost and hopeless. A father who never quits
Continue reading...