10. Come Home to the Father (A Sermon on God's Waiting Love)
Introduction: The Universal Language of a Father's Heart
Picture a father standing at the edge of his property, hand shielding his eyes from the sun, scanning the horizon for a familiar silhouette. Day after day, he returns to this spot, hoping. This image transcends cultures and centuries. In every Indian village and city, in every home across this land, parents know what it means to wait for a child who has wandered. The ache in the heart, the mixture of love and longing, the readiness to forgive before a single word of apology is spoken. This is the heart of our sermon today from Luke 15:20, where we see something remarkable: the father did not merely wait. He ran.
In the ancient Middle Eastern culture where Jesus told this story, elderly men of dignity never ran. Running meant lifting your robes, exposing your legs, and appearing undignified before the community. Yet this father ran. Why? Because love breaks through every social barrier. Because mercy moves faster than judgment. Because the God of the universe cares more about restoring you than protecting His reputation.
God Is Not Distant - He Stands at the Gate
Many people carry a false picture of God. They imagine Him as a stern judge sitting on a distant throne, arms crossed, waiting to punish. They think they must first clean themselves up, fix their lives, and prove their worth before approaching Him. This is not the God Jesus reveals.
Look at Luke 15:20 closely. The text says the father saw his son "while he was still a long way off." How did the father see him from such a distance? Because the father was watching. He was positioned where he could see the road. He had been looking every day, straining his eyes toward the path his son had taken months or years before.
In Indian culture, you know this truth. When a family member travels far from home, mothers and fathers keep vigil. They check the time, calculate when the train or bus should arrive, and position themselves where they can see first. The kettle is already boiling for chai. The food is prepared. Everything is ready because love prepares in advance.
Psalm 139:1-3 tells us, "Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways." God knows exactly where you are right now. He knows the road you took to arrive at this moment. He knows your thoughts, your fears, your shame. And He is still watching for you.
The Journey Away - Understanding the Prodigal's Path
Let us walk through this story together, because parts of it may mirror your own journey. The younger son came to his father and demanded his share of the inheritance. In that culture, this request carried a terrible message. He was essentially saying to his father, "I wish you were dead. I want what you will leave me, but I do not want you."
The father granted the request. God gives us freedom. He does not chain us to His side. Love that forces is not love at all. So the son took his wealth and traveled to a distant country. Luke 15:13 says he "squandered his property in reckless living." The Greek word for squandered means to scatter completely, to waste utterly. He did not just spend money foolishly. He threw away his identity, his dignity, his future.
Then famine came. When you walk away from God, emptiness follows. You may not see it immediately. The first days of rebellion often feel like freedom. You make your own choices, follow your own desires, answer to no one. But eventually, the resources run out. The friends disappear. The pleasure turns hollow. The Bible says he became so desperate that he hired himself out to feed pigs. For a Jewish young man, this represented the absolute bottom. Pigs were unclean animals. To care for them meant constant ceremonial defilement. He had fallen so far that he longed to eat the carob pods the pigs were eating, and no one gave him anything.
Maybe your story echoes his. Perhaps you walked away from God, from your family, from the values you were taught. Perhaps you made choices that seemed exciting at first but led to emptiness. Perhaps you tried to fill the God-shaped void in your heart with relationships, success, money, substances, or pleasures. Perhaps you woke up one day and realized you had lost yourself. Perhaps shame keeps you away now. You think, "How could God accept me after what I have done? How could I face Him after breaking my promises? How could I return to the community after everyone saw me leave?"
But look what happens next in Luke 15:17. "When he came to himself," the text says. Repentance begins with coming to your senses. You realize that you are perishing while your Father's house has abundance. You remember that even the hired servants in your Father's house have more than you have now in your rebellion.
The Father's Response - The Heart of the Gospel
Here we arrive at the center of the story, the moment that reveals God's character. Luke 15:20 says, "While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him." Read those verbs carefully. Saw. Felt compassion. Ran. Embraced. Kissed. Each word carries weight.
The father saw him from a distance because the father was looking. The father felt compassion. The Greek word splanchnizomai refers to a deep, visceral emotion, a feeling in your gut. This was not mild sympathy. This was overwhelming love that moved him to action. The father ran. An elderly man of status and dignity hiked up his robes and sprinted down the dusty road. Why did he run? Some scholars suggest he ran to reach his son before the villagers could reach him. In that culture, a son who had disgraced his family and squandered his inheritance could be subjected to a ceremony of rejection by the community. The father ran to intercept judgment with mercy.
He embraced him. The son was filthy. He smelled like pig waste. His clothes were rags. His dignity was gone. The father did not care. He threw his arms around his son's neck. He kissed him repeatedly. The Greek tense indicates continuous action. Kiss after kiss after kiss.
The son started his prepared speech in Luke 15:21: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father interrupted him. He did not even let him finish. He did not lecture him. He did not say, "I told you so." He did not impose a probationary period. Instead, he called for the best robe, the family ring, sandals for his feet. He ordered the fattened calf to be killed for a celebration.
This is the gospel. Romans 5:8 declares, "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." You do not have to clean yourself up first. You come as you are, and God does the cleaning. You do not have to earn your way back. Jesus already paid the price on the cross at Calvary.
The Indian Heart Understands - Forgiveness in Our Culture
Indian culture deeply understands the concept of family honor and the pain of broken relationships. But it also understands the power of reconciliation. There is a beautiful Telugu saying: "Amma pillanipai thittukoni thinipistaru." A mother scolds her child and then feeds him. Discipline and love coexist. Correction comes wrapped in care.
Similarly, God's discipline is always redemptive, never merely punitive. Hebrews 12:6 says, "The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." When you experience consequences for your choices, God is not abandoning you. He is shaping you, calling you back.
Isaiah 1:18 extends an invitation that should take your breath away: "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." This is not partial forgiveness. This is not grudging acceptance. This is a complete transformation. Scarlet sins become snow white. Crimson stains become clean wool.
First John 1:9 adds this promise: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Notice it does not say He might forgive us if we beg hard enough or prove ourselves. It says He is faithful and just to forgive. Faithfulness to His character. Justice satisfied by Christ's sacrifice. Your forgiveness is guaranteed when you come in repentance.
A Modern Testimony - The Power of Coming Home
Allow me to share a testimony that demonstrates this truth in contemporary India. A young woman in Kerala grew up in a nominal Christian home. She knew Bible stories but did not know the living Christ. As she entered college, she drifted away. She pursued success, relationships, and social status. She tried to find meaning through academic achievement, then through romantic relationships, then through spiritual practices borrowed from various traditions. She visited temples, consulted astrologers, read self-help books, and sought counsel from friends. Nothing brought peace.
Depression settled over her. Anxiety attacked her at night. She felt empty despite her accomplishments. Then one evening, broken and alone, she remembered the simple gospel her grandmother had shared years before. She knelt in her room and prayed, "Lord Jesus, I do not know if You are real. But if You are, I need You. Take my life. Forgive my sins. Make me new."
She describes what happened as a weight lifting from her shoulders. No audible voice spoke. No vision appeared. But peace flooded her heart. She experienced what 2 Corinthians 5:17 describes: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." She began reading the Bible with understanding. Prayer became natural. Her desires changed. Her relationships improved. Her purpose is clarified.
Today, she serves in youth ministry, helping other young people find the peace that eluded her for so long. Her testimony echoes thousands of others across India and around the world. The prodigal came home, and the Father was waiting.
Conclusion - The Invitation Stands Today
The Father is waiting for you right now. He stands at the gate, watching the horizon, ready to run. Your sins do not surprise Him. Your failures do not disqualify you. Your shame does not drive Him away. Jesus paid the full price on the cross. His blood covers every sin. His resurrection proves His power over death and offers you new life.
You do not need to fix yourself first. You do not need to promise you will never fail again. You need to come. Take the first step toward home. Say, "Father, I have sinned. Forgive me. Save me. Make me Your child."
Romans 10:9-10 gives you the path: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." This is the gospel invitation. This is the good news that transforms lives.
Acts 3:19 adds this urgent call: "Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." Notice the promise: times of refreshing. Not grudging tolerance. Not permanent probation. But refreshing, renewal, restoration.
The Father is waiting. Come home today.
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Blessings,
Pastor JM Raja Lawrence
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
email: lawrencejmr@gmail.com
Mobile: +91 9933250072
