The Picture of a Patient Father
Luke 15:11-24
* As I thought and prayed this week about our upcoming Revival effort & the need which I sense for a visit from the heaven through the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit, I was drawn to a familiar story in scripture. It is a story that Jesus told and it’s found in Luke 15 and is most commonly known as “The Prodigal Son”, however, we are going to read, visit, and linger over this story from a different point of view. Let’s read.
* One of the greatest works of art known to mankind is Michelangelo’s work on the Sistine Chapel. The colors and artistry were arguably stunning. However, I have been told that after many years those colors became dulled, losing their appeal. The question was, “What happened?” Did the paint lose it color by fading or what? Actually, it was the grime of time which occluded the view of the colors. After being cleaned, the work of art was returned to its previous glory.
* Most of us have witnessed this truth in our lives. We buy an automobile and it gets dirty, so we wash it. The colors on the siding of our house lose their brilliance and so we wash the siding and the colors come back.
* Of course we know that these colors were present all the time they were just covered over by the ‘grime of time.’
* This same truth is prevalent in our spiritual lives. We learn truth, develop godly lifestyles as we walk with God, and then allow the ‘grime of time’ the ‘wickedness of this world’ to gradually slip in covering our hot heart for God. The result is that sin of all sorts begin to slip into our lives & sadly, we can’t even see the beautiful colors any longer & don’t know it.
* In our scripture, we tend to focus on the youngest son, whose rebellion is totally chronicled, but tonight let’s pull back the grime & see the truth about the Father. Let’s do this in four parts.
1. The Hurt of the Father – Can you imagine how deeply the father in this story was hurt? Only a parent can empathize. They man had only 2 sons and parents love their kids. For all teenagers here – NO ONE LOVES YOU LIKE YOUR PARENTS! There is no friend you have that loves you as much as your parents. They would literally die for you. This father loved his boys and worked with them as they were probably adults. Can you fathom this father’s hurt when his baby boy came and basically said, “I don’t want to wait until you’re dead & gone, I want what’s coming to me & I want it NOW!” This is the epitome of rebellion and rejection. Don’t miss the truth that the father COULD have had many adverse reactions, but instead he responded like a loving father.
* From my observation, this young man (either consciously or un) drove a knife into the heart of his dad and, given the chance, would twist it. Yet, the father still loved the boy, gave him what he wanted, and then let him go. Can you imagine the emotions of the father on the night he left? It takes no imagination to conclude he cried over the boy’s attitude.
* If you have ever experienced or known someone who has experienced a child leaving home under these conditions, you know this hurt.
* Let’s change the direction of our thinking and ask, “Can you imagine how God felt when He walked through the Garden of Eden only to discover that His creation had taken what they wanted & walked away from Him? I submit that hurt is intensified when we fail to receive His offer of restoration through His Son. That hurt is extended when we come to Him by faith and then walk away in disobedience and get so far from Him that we cannot even see His truth in our lives.
2. The Hope of the Father – I suggest that from the very first day the boy was gone, dad began to pray for protection over his son. Possibly another thing the father prayed for was his son to COME TO HIS SENSES! Word of warning: “Be careful what you ask for.” Dad didn’t ask for a famine, poverty, and a pig-pen; he asked for the boy to come to his senses! This is where we need to be careful. When we ask God for something, He responds HIS WAY, not ours. The way to scrape back the grime of sin in our lives may well be to send us to the pig pen. “Your will be done” may well be the most dangerous prayer to pray, but it is also the most productive prayer. This father knew that God bringing his son to his knees would be far better than waiting for this world to put him on his back (and in the ground). Quite likely, dad prayed every day and then kept an eye on that long road in front of the house. He believed that God would bring the boy home and probably pre-lived in his mind the homecoming for which he desperately longed. Our heavenly father is saddened when His children rebel against Him and His plans for us. When we walk away, no matter how far, His desire is for us to come home. Notice that the Father didn’t go and “DRAG” the boy home, he allowed God to bring the boy to his senses. Here’s the take-away for us; When we walk away from the Father, He may well put us into a place of famine, poverty, loneliness, and even the pig pen of life attempting to help us ‘come to our senses.’ In my life the hope of the Father had been played out many times. Being the stubborn person that I am, he’s had to send me to the pig-pen more than once. Every time He does this, He stands on the front porch with His hands hooding His eyes, looking for me. I start to Him & He runs to me.
3. The Happiness of the Father –Can you imagine how the Father felt when he saw the boy, his lost boy, coming home! He was watching, waiting, & even willing for the boy to return. He couldn’t contain himself. All his prayers had been answered. The son came home confessing, but dad could see a change in the boy’s attitude so nothing else mattered except that his boy who was seemingly dead was now alive. I’ve been that parent concerned about whether an offspring was ‘dead or alive’ & I can say without reservation that seeing & hearing them gives joy & happiness like nothing else. This dad was so elated he threw a party! Bring the robe, bring the ring, and bring the shoes, he was dead and now he is alive, it’s time to celebrate. In the spiritual realm nothing makes God happier than when one of His creation (that’d be a lost person) comes home (that’d be to salvation) unless it is when one of His children (that’d be a saved person) returns home (that’d be confession, repentance, & recommitment). There is a great deal of rejoicing in heaven when one sinner comes to faith and there is a great deal of rejoicing in heaven when a child comes back home! It takes no imagination at all to know that all of us are constantly pulled by the forces of this world into sin. Sadly, this culture goes out of its way to turn its back on God. When we turn our attention to ourselves, it requires us to turn our backs on God. By the way, whatever we ‘face’ is the direction we are headed. Have you walked away? Would make the Father happy by returning home today?
4. The Heart of the Father - This story paints a picture of a Father’s heart in three simple snapshots;
a. Goodness – It was in the pig-pen, at the lowest point of his young life, that the boy remembered his Father’s goodness, even the servants had it good. Leaving home, his perception of his father was, quite likely, that dad was all work & no play, that he demanded too much, and even was too narrow minded. People leave and discover that outside of the Father’s protection & guidance, there is a pig-pen waiting for every one of us. Some try immorality and discover pregnancy, disease, or the inability to connect with their mate. Others have succumbed to the ‘fun’ of gambling to discover a nasty habit which destroys their life. God’s goodness reaches further than you can go and deeper than you can fall.
b. Forgiveness – Think about this; the son came home, confessed his sin, repented of his attitude, and took personal responsibility for his actions. He offered no excuses, just admission. He had left full of pride & came back empty. Pride puffs us up like a balloon & the needle of reality will inevitable prick that balloon to deflate us & most have to be deflated.
* While forgiveness is always in the father’s heart, the release of this forgiveness is the admitting, confessing, and repenting, of us who have walked away in rebellion. His words were, “Father forgive me” and his attitude gave force to his admission.
c. Acceptance – Notice that the boy didn’t have to ‘prove himself.’ The patient father understood what the boy had done. He also understood that no one is perfect and that whatever happened, this was still his son. He could have said, “I forgive you, but you must come back in the way you have said. You will be my slave.” But as a sign & signal of his acceptance, the Father said, “bring the robe, the shoes, and the ring, he’s back, he’s back, he’s BACK!” In the midst of his lowest time, he remembered the heart of the father & wanted to go home.
* As I have alluded to in this message, the “Patient Father” is a Picture of God. He is hurt by our sin, our rebellion, our rejection, and even our resistance. He is hurt when we go our own way. He stands there like the father in this story, hoping to see us come to our senses & return to him. When we do come home, there is a party in the halls of heaven because of the happiness of the father. And the reason is this; God’s heart is a redemptive & good heart. He desires to redeem, forgive, restore, and accept us into His family & Kingdom. Romans 5:8 and 1 John 1:9 are eternal words which bring in focus “The Picture of a Patient Father.” Let us never try His patience.
