Three Parables, One Heart: The Father's Love

Once upon a time, in the summertime, there was a 16-year-old young man struggling to find his way. His father held a particular secular and materialistic philosophy about life and making meaning in the world—something the young man had tried to embrace, but it ultimately left him feeling empty.

One day, he approached his father in the family cottage kitchen. The father was talking with his daughter, and the young man waited anxiously, eager to speak.

But his father, absorbed in his conversation, soon showed frustration—shooing him away with a hand. It had been a painful pattern: plenty of time for his daughter, but none for his son.

The young man then went for a walk. It was nighttime, dark and quiet outside.

Unbeknownst to his father, he had attempted to take his life three times in the past year. His struggles were real, his pain deep, and his heart pounded with anxiety about the future.

He continued walking along the dirt road that started at the top of the cottage property, wound around a forest dotted with houses, eventually returning to the cottage.

About a quarter of the way around, he stopped under a tall lamp post—the only light in the area, about fifteen feet above the ground.

He spoke aloud into the darkness—bemoaning his sadness, his feelings of having no direction in life, and raising his voice as his emotions grew stronger.

He called out quiet loudly into the night, not knowing or believing if anyone was listening, tears flowing down his face, asking if anyone cared.

Hearing no response, he continued walking around the rest of the forest, then made his way back to the cottage.

Finally, he sat in the dark on a beach chair, arms folded, eyes closed, quietly seeking something like peace.

In that moment, although he didn’t realize it then, he was calling out to God—

the one who, even in his silence, was listening, the one Who, even in the darkness, saw him.

That night marked a turning point, and from that time on, though the light was dim, he began to learn that God, God the Father, was always there—waiting patiently, even when unseen.

That young man was me. And that’s a story about what I now consider to be a precious time in my life.

It was an event that in a short span of time would contribute to a softening of my heart toward what I will call mystery.

It’s Father’s Day, and we’re going to spend some time looking into the Scriptures that ________ just read, as well as the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which are all about the same thing, to see what we can see about the nature of God the Father.

We know that Father’s Day is a day of mixed significance to people.

For some Father’s Day is a problem because their dad’s were either not there at all, or were emotionally absent, abusive or worse.

Some really don’t want to remember Father’s Day, because it’s just a source of pain.

But regardless of our relationship with our own fathers, there is a wonderful reality to ponder: that God chooses to have a relationship like that of...a Father with us, with you and with me.

The difference is that God’s fatherhood is perfect, not lacking on any level.

Not lacking in care, not lacking in closeness, not lacking in sound instruction, not lacking in anything.

So that’s why we’re going to spend time mining what these passages have to say about God as our Father in heaven, about the God Who welcomes us and rejoices when we turn from sin, turn from distractions, and turn to Him instead.

In our passage, Jesus is facing criticism for the kinds of people that He chose to spend time with, those who were interested in what He had to say.

He is being quite negatively critiqued for being welcoming to and even dining with the sorts of people that the spiritual leaders thought should be beneath Jesus.

Jesus responds with a parable about a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep to find one that’s lost.

When he finds it, he rejoices and celebrates, illustrating God's joy over one sinner who repents—more than over those who see themselves as already righteous.

This story reveals that God loves struggling people and is pleased to spend time with those He cares about, contrary to the Pharisees’ view that only the “holy” matter.

The Pharisees questioned how Jesus could be the Son of God if He associated with sinners, but they misunderstood—Jesus’ chosen company and His ministry challenge their assumptions about what it means to follow God.

In His early ministry, Jesus sought to connect with them, but later He openly condemned their judgmental attitude.

So he speaks of something that would be quite understandable to them: