Amazed By Grace

So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

Luke 15:20

Most of us either have someone in our lives or know of someone who has seemingly used up all of their chances. The person who asks for money because they blew what they had on feeding their addiction… The one whose tendency to let their anger get the best of them is flying off the handle again… The employee that gets to work late everyday and doesn’t meet expectations when they’re on the clock…There is only so much we can take of this type of behavior. At some point, most people have to pay the consequences. That’s just the way things work in our world.

For parents, dealing with a child caught up in sin is especially painful. Many parents offer a sacrificial level of grace many times before it’s no longer possible to do so.

The Parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15 tells the story of a father whose son blew everything he had on wild living. The son then comes back home and is given a royal welcome from his father. This story doesn’t look like a real world example of how things normally work out in a situation like this. This is very different. On the surface, it may look like the father has let his son take advantage of him, but there is more it.

This parable is, of course, symbolic of our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Even though we separate ourselves from God’s love by living sinfully, He always welcomes us back. We only need to make steps toward Him and He will run toward us.

If life is not going like you know it should today, make steps toward your Heavenly Father, ask for forgiveness, receive the grace he promises us, and see how things turn around when you remain in His love. As for the consequences? HALLELUJAH, Jesus took those on FOR US on the cross.

Benji