Luke 15:20
And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
I am not an impatient person . . . it is just that I want things to be done without having to wait! You may feel much like that yourself. There are times in our life when we strongly desire for changes to be made immediately, but they just seem to take longer than expected.
As we read the parable of the Lost Son, or more commonly called the Prodigal Son, we are struck by the image of a father waiting and longing for a wayward son to come home. I visualize the father sitting on the front porch of his home, gazing down the long lane leading to the house. His heart is aching to see the familiar form of that son who has been gone for so long.
There is another picture that we do not commonly see in the parable. It is the one of the older brother who remained at home. He might have remained at home, but his wayward heart was in that far country with his younger brother. We see this later in the story as the brother has imagined his younger brother wasting his money with harlots. There is no way he could have known this, but he vicariously experienced it and his heart was not where it should have been.
The father had two sons who were gone, as it were. One son was lost in a far country and the other son was lost in his imagination. Only one son returned to the father . . . the younger son. The older boy refused to return to the house, even when his father begged him. Who is waiting for you today, or for whom are you waiting?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil