A BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATION

“I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee.  And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.  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.  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.  But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put in on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again, he was lost and is found.  And they began to be merry.”

Luke 15:18-24 KJV

This is one of the most beautiful illustrations in the Bible because it describes the unconditional love and forgiveness that our Heavenly Father has for us when we fail Him and hurt Him.  O that we as parents would love our children like God loves us that when our children hurt us we would forgive them.

It is true that we need to correct our children when they need it.  However, if we don’t tell our children we still love them when we have to punish them like God tells us He still loves us when we hurt Him and disobey Him then our children will probably think that we don’t love them anymore. 

Years ago, when I worked in a nursing home, I heard some of the residents talking about when they were children and their parents took them out to the woodshed to spank them.  God has had to take me out to His woodshed several times and correct me but He always reassured me that He still loves me.

Joanne Lowe

June 18, 2015