The Father is full of compassion for you. Compassion is not something that we have to wait for. Compassion is not something we need to be good enough for. Jesus gave us a parable that describes what the Father’s compassion looks like. The story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) illustrates that compassion fills the Father’s heart even while we are still far off-track in the Christian life.

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 NIV).

What don’t you like about yourself? Do you still feel ashamed of your sins, and is this making you wonder if Father God is keeping you in misery because you don’t deserve better treatment?

The parable of the Prodigal Son assures us that the Father cherishes us no matter what we’ve done. He waits, full of fatherly yearning, for us to turn away from our sins and turn toward him. That’s all we need to do, just turn around. And the moment we do that, he runs to us! He wastes no time but immediately embraces us, welcomes us, and kisses us with his super-abundant love.

The prodigal son had not yet asked his dad for forgiveness when he felt forgiveness wrap around him like a warm blanket. His confession came afterward. This is how the Father treats us. When we sin, he waits for our repentance with eager anticipation. He feels the pain of our absence. His fatherly heart yearns for the moment when we’ll realize that we’re better off with him than in the pig sty of our sins.

Why does he treat us this way when he knows we will so easily fall back into sin? He sees our future. And yet he does not hold our future sins against us. He embraces us in the here and now. That’s compassion!


Day 16 on the journey includes:

  1. The Father’s compassion is visible every day
  2. Learning to love with the compassion of Christ
  3. The tender mercy of the Father’s compassion
  4. The overflow of compassion

 

© 2021 by Terry A. Modica

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