Old Books, God and Ourselves, Norman Cox, Part 7

An anxious prodigal journeyed home, practicing his speech: “Father, I have sinned ...” His thoughts raced with the possible conclusions to this long ordeal. “Will dad take me back? Will he speak to me? Will he allow me to be one of his hired servants?” After rounding the final corner and seeing his home in the distance, “he became aware that a man had left the house and was running to meet him. “Who can it be, and why is he running?” He did not remember any servant who ran like this one, and he knew it was not his elder brother -- he rarely ever ran. The one who ran was like his father. He remembered his father’s running when they played games together when he was a boy. It could not be his father, however, because his father was too old to run like that. Thus he speculated until the father was near enough to recognize beyond all doubt. He was astounded that his father ran so fast. But he was more amazed at the radiance of his father’s countenance.”

The stunned son began his memorized speech but his exuberant father didn’t let him finish. Robe and ring and sandals were quickly brought for the shabby son: “Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead is alive again; he was lost and is found. So they began to celebrate.” It was time to party!

As Cox explains, “Jesus meant this to be a picture of God and Ourselves.” It is a story of “our self-willed breaking away from [God] into adventures far from God. In it he has shown us the inescapable consequences of sin.” But in the story we also find that God, with an indescribable longing and yearning [he runs toward repentant sinners!], waits for the sinner to “come to himself” because only “then will he become conscious of his need and guilt and be moved to abhor and confess his sin.”

I have often wondered what it would be like to have a child or a grandchild abducted. Imagine what would it then be like if they suddenly were found and brought home alive and in full health? That sort of over-the-top joy is the joy our Heavenly Father feels when we come home from the far country.

“Father I have sinned.”
“Let’s have a feast and celebrate.”