The God Who Runs

The God Who Runs

Read: Luke 15:11-32

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”

Luke 15:20

“God is far more willing to save sinners than sinners are to be saved.”

—J. C. Ryle

IN WORD No other religion pictures its deity like this. No other faith can claim a God who zealously pursues His children. All other deities are distant and elusive, demanding that their disciples come to them, usually on a long and arduous path, often with arbitrary rituals of appeasement. But not the Father whom Jesus portrays. He is a God who runs after His children. Never mind the child’s past. All of his rebellious arrogance is no longer an issue. Neither are the rags and odor he’s wearing when he returns. The return is all that matters, and the Father enthusiastically runs to His child and escorts him into His household.

Why does Jesus give us such a picture? It seems too good to be true. We know we are not worthy of such attention from the Father we’ve deeply offended. We know He has every right to close His door to us. We know this because, if we were in His position, that is exactly what we’d do.

IN DEED Jesus’ portrayal of the Father is contrary to human nature; this is no human father. He is contrary to our expectations, contrary to the man-made gods of this world, and contrary to the interpretations with which we and Jesus’ hearers have understood God. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden, we hide from Him. We know His anger should rightfully burn against us. We don’t think He’ll be glad to see us.

But our God runs to us. That’s what the Incarnation and the Cross are all about. In spite of our rags, the lingering smell of the pigsty, the empty pockets, and the embarrassment that colors our faces, He throws His arms around us and kisses us. There is nothing appealing about us that compels Him to do so; it is just His nature. May we daily give thanks for such a Father. We can base our lives on the knowledge that we are irrevocably His.