The Unconditional Love of the Father
I am delighted to have my friend, Barbara Latta, as my guest this week. I know you will be blessed by her inspiring message. You will find further information about Barbara and how to join her on social media in her biography below. Thank you for sharing with us, Barbara!
The Unconditional Love of the Father
The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 is widely used to identify children who stray from home and get into trouble. We may not consider ourselves prodigals in the sense of this story, but some of us may have been one or both of these brothers at one time or another in our spiritual lives.
Despite the way these kids treated their father, his unconditional love revealed his righteous character and shows us the Lord’s redemptive hand toward us.
The father didn’t plead with the youth not to leave. The lure of the world pulled him away from a loving home. He was a Jewish boy who ended up feeding pigs. He was obviously in a land that didn’t follow biblical laws. When we stray into the world, we can find ourselves in the dirt and sludge of the hog pen.
God gives us a choice. If we choose to run away from Him, He allows us to go but He always reaches out to draw us back. This dad of the younger boy kept looking down the road for his child’s return. He never gave up. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)
The older heir was not reprimanded. He was merely reminded of what he had all along (Luke 15:31). Our heavenly Father reveals through His Word the gifts He has given us. His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. (2 Peter 1:3 NKJV)
The family leader loved his children and showed that love by providing an inheritance (Luke 15:12). God brings us into his fold when we receive His Spirit. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)
Our Creator’s desire is for us to know how much He loves us. That’s all the man in this parable wanted his offspring to realize. The older brother’s work is not why his parent loved him, and the desertion of the younger one didn’t cancel the welcome home party.
We could say both siblings were prodigals because they strayed from the family relationship.
We are born into the family of God when we accept Christ as Savior and Lord. But that doesn’t mean we will never sin again. When we do sin, we can feel that we must clean ourselves up before we can approach the Throne. Like the younger son of this story, I know how this feels. I wouldn’t pray or read my Bible for a time because I felt condemned. But the condemnation didn’t come from the Holy One or His Word. It came from my conscience that knew something was wrong.
But I have also been the older brother. Self-righteous attitudes formed when I judged another’s sin. I have been a good Pharisee.
In both cases, I felt the Lord say to my soul, “Stop condemning yourself. I don’t condemn you, so why do you?”
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)
These are some of the most freeing words we can ever hear.
If you see yourself as one of these children, no matter which one it is, please know that your heavenly Father is looking down the road and waiting to embrace you and fill you with the gifts He has already provided.
How has the unconditional love of the Father impacted your life?
Barbara Latta is the author of God’s Maps, Stories of Inspiration and Direction for Motorcycle Riders and has contributed to several anthologies and written for online devotion and article sites. Her latest contribution is to The Power to Make a Difference published by Lighthouse Bible Studies.
Barbara loves to travel, garden, snap photos and ride with her husband on his motorcycle. She is pursuing a certificate in biblical studies through Charis Bible College.
Her desire is to share the truths she has learned through the Word of God to help those in bondage to negative emotions become free and have an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father. Her blog can be found at www.barbaralatta.blogspot.com. You can also connect with Barbara on Twitter @barbaralatta, Instagram @blatta2 and follow her on Facebook.
Amen Ms. Barbara. I’ve sure been there; and sadly not all that long ago. When we Christians become self-righteous and judgmental of others, we are not better than the second son. It’s so important to remember the words of Romans 3:10. Our righteousness arrives upon our glorification; until that time, those sage words apply to our lives. Thank you for this great reminder. And thank you Ms. Katherine for featuring this godly woman on your post.
If we are honest, J.D., I think we’ve all likely had episodes when we were the self-righteous big brother or the implusive, self-centered little brother. What a wonderful example our friend, Barbara, has shared to show us how much our Father loves us, even when we stumble, fall, or brazenly claim that we need special attention. I’m so thankful Ms. Barbara shared her insight and inspiration with us this week.
I think we have all been like both these boys at one time or another. Thank God we have the unconditional love of the Father. Thank you for sharing, J.D.
In the sermons I remember about this parable from my youth, it was more often the younger brother rather than the older one. There was a remarkable one when I was a newly single mother about the older one. We are indeed one brother or the other from time to time.
I can also think of several circumstances when I behaved like the younger or older brother. I’m so thankful that our Father is a loving, forgiving God, that doesn’t hold grudges. Thank you for sharing with us today, Nancy.
Yes, Nancy, I think we are and that’s why Jesus shared this parable. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Barbara (and Katherine) for the reminder that the allure of immediate gratification vs. long term fulfillment is often overwhelming, and all of us fall victim to it in one way or another at some point (or points) in our lives. Life in the far country never delivers what it promises but as you pointed out so clearly, that is never the case with the Father’s promises. Praise God that all of us who have strayed have a loving reunion and banquet waiting for us back at home,
Yes, Ron, we can be so thankful we have a Father who looks down the road to welcome us back into the fold no matter what. Thanks for sharing.
Ron, as one who has strayed and been brought back into the fold, I’m so thankful for our loving Savior who welcomed me back with open arms. Thank you for adding your wisdom and insight to Barbara’s message on God’s love.
Thank you, Barbara and Katherine, for showing us a clear picture of our heavenly Father and His thoughts of us. I have to fight that self-condemnation sometimes. It’s strong but must bow its knee to the truth of Scripture. What an uplifting post.
Jeannie, I think sometimes we are harder on ourselves than we are other people. We must learn to forgive ourselves too. We do need to bow to scripture so we can receive the love and forgiveness of our Father. Thanks for sharing!
Jeannie, I also fight the battle of “not being good enough,” but none of us are! That’s the wondrous mercy of God’s love. Thank you for your encouragement.
Barbara, I, too, have felt condemnation in the past and God showed me it wasn’t from Him. He has taught me through past trials how much He loves me and wants the best for me and from me. But he doesn’t condemn me when I fail to give him my best.
Great post!
Candyce, thank you for sharing your story of God’s great love for us. I love that you point out that God doesn’t condemn us for our imperfections. He just loves us through it and helps us strive to do better!
When we get the realization that God doesn’t condemn us because He poured out His wrath on Jesus, it frees us to accept His love. Condemnation puts a barrier between us and our Father. Thanks for sharing, Candyce!
Barbara, thank you for this post and this sweet reminder of just how much God loves us and wants us as His own.
I love the line, “If we choose to run away from Him, He allows us to go but He always reaches out to draw us back.”
Thank you, Dawn, for your comment. Like you, I love that God is always ready to welcome us home with open arms when we realize that our place to run is not away from Him, but into His safe and loving arms.
Dawn, we can be so thankful that God’s hand is always reaching out to us. The prodigal in this story was surprised when he saw his father watching for him down the road. When we know our heavenly Father’s nature, we don’t have to be surprised when He is waiting for us to return to Him. Thanks for sharing!
I really appreciated your post, Barbara. You have shown our heavenly Father’s heart for both the prodigal and the older brother, so well and it’s true we are each one of those sometimes. And thank you, Katherine for hosting Barbara.
Thank you for stopping by, Kathy. I know these past few weeks have been very busy for you and your family. It is wonderful, isn’t it, that our Father loves both the prodigals and the self-righteous with the same merciful and loving grace that He has for everyone else. I’m especially grateful since I have been both at times (and still fall into some of those pitfalls). Wishing you continued blessings.
What a beautiful reminder of God’s love despite where our hearts and heads might be. I’ve certainly been all three people in this story — multiple times, if I’m honest. I agree with Dawn that “If we choose to run away from Him, He allows us to go but He always reaches out to draw us back” is a powerful thing to remember. Thank you for sharing!
Leigh, Barbara and I are grateful for your encouragement. Like you, I think most of us (I know I do) fall into self-righteousness, pride, and selfishness more often than we’d like to admit. I’m so thankful our Father is loving, forgiving, and merciful. We are so blessed.