The Father That Waits

Here's a great story about the love of God. Some of you may have heard it or read it in the Bible before. In the Bible (Luke 15:11 - 24) it goes by the header "The Parable of The Lost Son" but today, if I may, I wont be talking about a lost son, I want to talk about "The Father That Waits".

There was once a Father with two sons whom he loved dearly. One day the younger son came to him and said, "Hey dad. I've been doing some thinking. You know I'm getting older everyday. I want to live my life NOW while I still can."

"That's fair son. You should enjoy your youth. So how may I help?" replied the father.

"Well you see dad, in today's world, money makes the world go round. If you wanna have fun you gotta have cash. Now I know you're probably still going to be around for many more years, but can I have my inheritance now? Please dad I'll be old by the time you kick the bucket!" said the son.

Though a little stunned, the father replied calmly, "Very well son. If that is what you really want. I'll have your share of the inheritance money ready by tomorrow morning."

And so morning came and the father handed his son a big bag of cash. "Alright! Now that's what I'm talking about!" exclaimed the son. "I'd love to stay and chat dad, but there's a big world out there waiting for me. Bye!" and with that the son disappeared into the horizon.

A tear trickled down the father's face because that may have been the last time he'll see his son. After all, there was A LOT of cash in that bag. But his heart wouldn't give him peace about the matter. Day after the day, he was moved to sit out on the porch looking out for his son.

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months but there was still no sight of the boy. Even the servants began to whisper among themselves, "Crazy old man! He doesn't even know if the boy's coming! For all we know death will take the old man before his good for nothing son comes back."

The father heard these things but it didn't bother him. He just said to himself, "I want to be here when he comes back. I want to be the first to let him know he's home. He's my son. I will wait for him."

Months passed until one day, a boy, with head hung low, scruffy and dirty walked along the road to the house. His steps were slow, fatigued, heavy, guilty. "How could I have been so stupid? God what was I thinking? Now if I'm lucky, dad will take me in to work for him."

With each step, the trail became increasingly familiar. He knew he was getting closer. His heart became anxious and he lifted his head to see just how much further was his house. And he saw something which never crossed his mind all throughout his long journey home. His heart broke and he began to cry. His father with arms wide open, was running towards him.

Come home. Dad is waiting.

GOD LOVES YOU

(story is my personal take on the Luke 15:11 - 24)

God's Love Language

Love language is a term coined by Gary Chapman and it basically speaks about the ways love is communicated (at least I think that it means :D). Every person has a unique love language - expressing and appreciating love in our own special ways. Anyone who has dated would know this! Guys we know that a fancy dinner with swoon some ladies, but it'll also make certain ladies think of us as "trying too hard" or "wasting money only la!". So knowing your partner's love language is essential for not only expressing your love to that person, but also for receiving his or her love.

Now here's my question today, do you know God's love language?

I don't claim to know every spectrum of God's expression of love (it's too awesome to fully understand in this lifetime anyway!), but I do see one consistent expression of his love.

He Gives

God's deep love for us is always backed up by a loving act. He doesn't just tell us He loves us, He gives until it hurts to show He isn't all talk. Take a look at what the Bible defines as love:

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." - 1 John 4:10 (NIV)

This is love, that God could no longer stand to see us struggle only to lose over and over again to sin; He sent His one and only Son whom he loved dearly to pay for our sins in death. He didn't just say from afar, "Don't fear! I love you! You'll make it someday!". He came as a man to give until it hurts, to give until He died, all for the sake of love.

The God we read about in the Bible is the same God today. He still loves us the same way He loves in the Bible. Today, if you believe that the love of God is just an "idea" or a "warm fuzzy feeling", I want to challenge you to believe for more. Our God gives to express His love, so expect good things from Him. Go beyond emotions and believe to receive real, tangible expressions of His love. To end I'm going to leave you with another verse from the Bible:

"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" - Matthew 7:11

GOD LOVES YOU.

pictures from:

http://richard-paulabydesign.blogspot.com/2009/11/languages-of-love.html

http://www.upc.org/missions.aspx?id=40