Our God Waits

Most people have heard the many stories that Jesus told the Pharisees and the Scribes as he was ministering to the people. There is one story in particular that Jesus told that, I believe, can have such a huge impact on us today and that is The Parable of the Lost Son which is found in Luke 15: 11-32. This parable has such a rich and deep meaning. In this parable, a man has two sons and the younger son asks for his inheritance early and then goes off to spend it lavishly and in a very sinful manner. When he is broke and has to get a job working with the pigs, he realizes that he has sinned and goes back home so that he can ask for his father’s forgiveness. The father sees him coming home and rejoices because his young son has returned home from a life of sin. His father knows that he was lost but now was found. His father throws a feast in celebration, however, the oldest son is angry because his father never did anything like that for him. The oldest son can’t forgive his own brother or let go of his own anger at his father for what he sees as unjust treatment.

So, how does this parable relate to today?

We need to realize that we have a Father in Heaven who waits for us to realize that we are sinful and to not blame others for what we choose to do or even what we don’t do. (Related post: Just Passing the Buck). We also have a Father who knows that we need to be more forgiving of those who do us harm. This is not to say that you haven’t released that other person from their own sin (that is on them), but you have instead released yourself from the anger that holds you from accomplishing all of what our God knows that you can accomplish!

In addition, during the Lenten season, while we wait on our Lord and Savior to rise up after His crucifixion, we need to realize that our God also waits for us to understand and recognize that we are sinful creatures and that we need to come back to Him on bended knee. We have a God who waits on us just because He loves us enough to look past all of our faults to see the bounty and beauty of what we could be. He won’t hold our sins over our heads. We do that enough on our own! (Related post: My dad always said that “You can’t woulda, shoulda, coulda…..”). God knows that we can’t change our past. Instead, He wants us to look forward to our future. He wants us to see the potential of what we can do if we just let go of everything that holds us down and keeps us from reaching out to a God who loves and values who we are.

So, what did I learn from this? I’m a sinful person, but God loves me anyway. God loves the potential of me. God loves that I listen to Him and knows that I hear, most of the time, what He’s trying to get me to understand. God knows my heart and He rejoices when I do the right thing. God hears my prayers and gives me the answers that I need. Simply, God loves me!

What can you gain from this? Knowing our God can bring you peace. Knowing our God can give you joy. Knowing our God can help you to understand that He loves you just as you are. He doesn’t ask that you change the essence of who you are. He just wants you to be better than what you are right now. He wants you to know that He will wait on you to come to Him and ask Him for His forgiveness. Our God waits because He loves you. It’s just as simple as that.