There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the inheritance.' So he divided his property between them. The younger son wastes everything, and when he's broken and desperate, he decides to go home and become a servant. Instead, his father runs out to meet him and celebrates his return.
The father doesn't require the son to prove his repentance or work his way back into favor. The father sees him from far off and runs. He celebrates before the son has done anything. The love isn't conditional on performance. It precedes the son's return. It's waiting. This parable has undone a lot of my earning-based understanding of God's love. I thought I had to get to a certain spiritual place before God would really love me. But the father in the parable is looking for his son's return. He's hoping. He's ready to celebrate the moment the son shows up. That's the posture of grace. Not earning your way in. Coming home to find you were already wanted.
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