TOPIC:‌“There's a Christian Way to Be Forgiven”

                  by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌Luke 15:11-32

 

‌‌“And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a

great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran,

and fell on his neck, and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).

 

 

‌All of us, I am sure, in reading the Bible have come across the parable of the prodigal son as told by our Lord to the scribes and Pharisees. Richard Trench, in his book, Notes On The Parables, calls it “the pearl and crown of all the parables of Scripture.”

 

‌Now I for one believe him, and believe him so convincingly, that I can't resist the impulse to preach upon it. To me this is the jewel of all the parables. It is the most tender and touching story ever to come from the lips of our Lord.

 

‌But why do I make such a statement? Simply for this reason: Have you ever stopped to consider that on the most part, this parable has more to do with the loving father than with a lost son. At this point lay hold of the words of the great Bible expositor, G. C. Morgan, who wrote: “By referring to this as a parable of the prodigal son we lay emphasis on the wrong point, the wrong word, at the wrong place. The true emphasis is not on the boy, but on the father. It is an unveiling of the heart of God, and in all that it is intended to teach there is no more remarkable or beautiful passage in the Scriptures of truth. It is a revelation of the infinite grace and tenderness of the Father's heart.”

 

‌And so it is! The picture of the hunting God, seeking and searching lost mankind with the message of forgiving love. Notice the stress that is put upon the father who represents God in this parable. It is not so much the prodigal requesting, retreating, repenting, and returning, as it is the father with arms wide open running to forgive him. For let us not forget that it was the father who welcomed him back. It was the father who listened to his confession. It was the father who in mercy forgave and pardoned. It was the father who in love put a robe on his back and a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. It was the father who ordered the best calf to be killed and served. And it was the father who in love exclaimed: “For this, my son, was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:24).

 

‌Can anyone doubt that the father in this parable is a beautiful picture of God hunting and tracking us down as lost sinners in desperate need of cleansing and forgiveness? To put it in the words of Christ who said: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). . . .