THE QUESTION

Jesus told of a runaway son who wasted his inheritance, hit bottom in a pig field, and finally headed home rehearsing an apology. His father spotted him while he was still a long way off. What did the father do?

A) Ran to him, threw his arms around him and kissed him  ✓

B) Stood in the doorway and waited to hear the apology

C) Sent a servant out to ask what he wanted

D) Agreed to take him back as a hired hand

A closer look

The younger son’s request was shocking: he asked for his inheritance while his father was still alive, which in that world was like saying he wished his father were dead. Then he left, wasted all of it, and a famine drove him into the only job he could find, feeding pigs and envying their food (Luke 15:11-16).

In the pig field he came to his senses and wrote himself a speech: I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants. He walked the long road home rehearsing it (Luke 15:17-19).

He never got the chance to deliver it properly. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him, which means his father had been watching the road. A landowner of that day did not run anywhere; running meant hitching up your robe and throwing away your dignity in front of the whole village. This father ran anyway, and he was kissing his son before the apology was finished (Luke 15:20-21).

And the hired-hand plan? It never left the son’s mouth. Before he could offer to work off the debt, the father was already calling for the best robe, a ring, sandals, and a feast. Nobody stood in the doorway, and no servant was sent to screen him. The father did not want an employee. He wanted his boy back (Luke 15:22-24).

Jesus told this story to show us the Father’s heart, and it is today’s verse in miniature. The son walked home rehearsing what he might earn; he was met by what he could only be given. The father didn’t wait for the speech, the repayment plan, or the proof of change. He ran while his son was still a long way off (Luke 15:20), which is exactly how God proved His love for us: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Love came first, before the apology was even finished.

See you tomorrow for a new verse, prayer, and trivia. Have a blessed day. ♡