My journey...

It's Father's day and of course we can't forget our Daddy in Heaven. So often we project our understanding of father to God. Understanding fatherhood, often from the view of our father, that is our understanding of God. He is a God whom we cannot comprehend. So He has to make us understand Him through our worldly understanding and knowledge. God choose an analogy of Father and son because the relationship between father and son is much closer than God and his people. When one says God loves his people, it does not mean much to us. But when one says God loves us as His son, it brings us so much closer to Him.

Yet, in the story of the prodigal son, Jesus tries to breaks the Jewish understanding of father and paints a picture of a father that is not their understanding of what a father should be. We should not limit God to what we understand fatherhood to be. I was contemplating upon this parable and noticed that the son after being with the swine for sometime, thought about his father's home and how his father's servants has more than what he has. So he was wanting to go back to serve in his father's house as a servant. He thought about what he was to say. Probably, he has to start off with something that would "buy" his father's heart. That is to say he was sorry and then ask for a favour once he has his dad on his side. After all, this is a trick that through many generations, children has been using. Say something that our parents wants to hear so that they discipline us less and hoping that it would soften their hearts so that we can get our way. This son wanted a job. A job that is better than staying with pigs.

But before he can say what he has rehearsed for so long, the father who saw him a long way away, ran to meet him. A man with stature and of age does not run. He has to probably hold up his robe to run to his son. Humiliating himself so that he can embrace his son. His son could be coming back to ask for more money or to hurt the father. He, the father does not know the motif of the son yet it does not matter. He is just glad to see him. His love for him is unconditional. So projects the love of the Father to us. Unconditional. It does not matter what we did. What our motif is for coming to Him. He will go all out to embrace us cause He cannot help Himself.

The love of the father caused the son to repent and caused him to change his attitude. The son did said what he recited... but only the first part. The part where he focused upon his own need does not seem important anymore. He did not ask the father if he can be a servant in his house. He just was sorry for what he did. Genuine repentance. A repentance that was touched by the love of the father.

When the realisation of the Father's love touch our hearts, it changes us. Caused us to see beyond our situation. Beyond our needs. Caused us to be able to rest in His arms.

Breaking the mindset of what a father should be. Poised, Authoratative, strict. Breaking the mindset of what unconditional love is. May we also get a revelation of this love in our life. A love that cause us to see God in a different light. Happy Father's Day.