The Kiss of Acceptance

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Luke 15:11-24 (KJV)

11. And he said, A certain man had two sons:
12. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18. I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19. And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
21. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23. And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

The story in our text is a very familiar one. It is often called "The Parable of the Prodigal Son," but the person who gives this parable deep meaning is the father -- not the son. There are many people who go astray in families, squander all they have, and try to return home only to find the welcome mat removed, but this father cries, "Welcome home!"

All parables parallel spiritual truth. This story follows Jesus' teaching on repentance (Luke 15:10). Some of us are like the prodigal in that we have wandered from the father, "wasted our gifts," and now find ourselves in a "famine" because of our sins. We learn a great deal about our heavenly Father by examining the father in this beautiful parable.

1. The Father does not always prevent your rebellion . . .
   The devil will do all he can to promote your run from your Father and His people.
   "If thou wilt fly from God, the devil will lend thee both spurs and a horse" Adams.
   1. When you flee from your Father, you obviously aren't thinking straight . . .
      And when he came to himself" (v.17). "When he came to his senses" (NIV).
   2. When you flee from your Father, it may take a while to feel the effects . . .
      A child of God who says, "I don't need you anymore," may find he enjoys his life for a season, but there is coming a day when the famine will come. It is estimated that mini-famines took 2 to 3 years, and major famines 5 years.
   3. When you flee from your Father, repentance is the turn toward home.
      "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee" (v.18).
      (1). There is no blaming of other people. (2) There is no justifying of actions.
2. The Father does not ever measure your repentance . . .
   The boy said, "I have sinned" and started heading home. He had his speech ready, his pride crumbled. Notice, however, what happened before the speech was given.
   1. The Father is more interested in you than He is your performance . . .
      He doesn't wait for you to SEE if you make the same mistake again! (v.20).
   2. The Father does not pay any attention to your efforts to repay Him . . .
      You may try to promise things, you may say things to gain His favor, but he pays no attention (v.22). Why is it that we try to get people to be a certain way, act a certain way, say certain things, BEFORE we give them our forgiveness?
3. The Father will always make merry at your return . . .
   "It was meet that we should make merry" (v.31), or as the NIV translates, "We had to celebrate and be glad!" The grace of God demands our praise and worship.

   Come, thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace:
   streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
   Teach me some melodious measure, sung by flaming tongues above:
   Oh, the vast, the boundless treasure of my Lord's unchanging love.