Note: This is a long article. But I felt it was worth it for the insight that is gained about the Father. Take your time in reading it. Let the truths move from your head to your heart.

There is a story about 2 sons and a Father in Luke 15 verses 11-32. It is called the prodigal son. If you have not read this story, I encourage you to read it before continuing reading this article. Often, the retelling of this story emphasizes the prodigal son. He is young, selfish and wants his inheritance before his father dies. He wants to leave home and see the world, all at the father’s expense.

Its about the Father
I propose this is a story first about the Father and what he is like. I think the Father is the central figure here, the most important figure, not the wayward son. The character of the father dominates the story. What our Heavenly Father is like is the main thing to learn in this parable.

Did you notice when reading this story, that when the younger son returns, how happy the father was to see him? He had been eagerly awaiting him. Every day, he was looking off in the distance for his son to return. When the father finally sees him in the distance, he runs to him and embraces him. After the son gets the undeserved ring, robe, and sandals, he understood what kind of Father he had that he never knew he had.

Sonship is not about our performance
Sonship is about Him and Him displaying who He is. Your Heavenly Father is eagerly looking for you to seek him out. Run to him today!

The younger son came to believe He was not worthy to be a son. He came back home hoping at best to be a servant. This is a sad part of the story. He forgot who he was. This is a tragic result of sin in our lives. We forget who we belong to and who we are. The son did not understand the depth of his father’s love. He had developed such a spirit of poverty that he couldn’t see the goodness of his father. Sin and his choices had so deceived him he thought of himself as a slave and no longer a son. But he was still a son, even though he didn’t think he was. If you are a Christian, you are a son, no matter what you have done or what you have thought about yourself. Run to your father!

It is about the goodness of the Father
Why is God, who is represented as the Father in this story, so good? We don’t understand that it is not about us. It is about God and His reputation. When He treats us like the father in this story, it is saying to the Heavens and the earth, look how outstanding and benevolent and good I am. If we say otherwise, we are putting ourselves in the center of the picture instead of Him. God is good because that is who he is. Thank him today for his undeserving goodness towards you!

The older son didn’t know his Father either
The older son did not understand what it meant to be a son, either. The older brother had lived under his father’s roof for years but never understood that his father was good. His reaction of jealousy towards his younger brother getting the ring, robe, and sandals showed he did not know his father even though he lived with him. The older son is angry with the father. He held the view that many hold today, that the prodigal did not deserve the kindness of the father. How could the father love, forgive and bless such a clueless and selfish son? Yet the father in our story was also relentless in his pursuit of the older son. His goodness could be seen on every side – towards the younger and older son. The father did not show favoritism. He loves all of his children the same. He loves you just as much as anybody else! Believe it!

The older son missed what being a son meant too
The older son did not understand what it meant to be a son, either. The older son was as messed up as the younger son. Sure, he didn’t do the sins of living with prostitutes, drinking, etc. of the younger son. But I propose to you he didn’t understand the Father any better than the younger son did. He had the same performance spirit on him that the younger son did. Sonship is not about our performance. Acceptance is not based on what you do, but what the father believes about you. The younger son deserved punishment because of what he did. The older son thought he deserved privilege because of what he did. They were both thinking the Father loved and rewarded them on what they did. Meditate on this today!

You can’t imagine how much the Father loves you. He eagerly desires to restore a relationship with you. The father in this story stood at the edge of the boundary of his property, looking for his son to return. God will go as far as He can looking for you, even when you aren’t looking for Him. He ran to his son and embraced him. His son was dirty, full of shame, smelled like pigs, broke, and looked terrible. This is His heart – this is what this parable conveys. He is not intimidated by what you have done. Wow!

The Father’s inheritance for you his goodness
Don’t be like the older son and get so busy working for the Father that we fail to take the time to get to know his heart. You might think that after the younger son left home, the older son would be closer to his father, yet he never really knew him. He was physically close, but maybe relationally just as far away. When we set aside time to abide in His presence, we discover our Father is much more interested in our relationship with Him than our labor for Him.

What was the true inheritance or reward to the sons in this parable? Was it first about the money the younger son wasted? Was it about the inheritance the older brother would still get? There is money involved in this parable. But the greatest inheritance is understanding the goodness of the Father is our greatest inheritance. He wants us to understand His heart more than anything. The importance of knowing the goodness of God the Father is our true inheritance!

The Father loves a party
The father loves a party. His long lost son was greeted with new clothes, shoes, and jewelry, and a feast! No poor food for his sons. A feast! God loves to eat and celebrate with you. Don’t think you have to wait for an accomplishment. Enjoy him right now. He is ready to throw a feast for you and celebrate.

Many times God has been given a bad reputation. He is not ready to ‘strike’ you. Don’t you think he would he that is what he wanted. There is nothing stopping him. He is like the father in this parable. He will embrace you as you run back to him. He is hoping you will run back to him. He has new clothes, shoes, and jewelry waiting for you along with a feast. Run!

A feast? Really? For a sinner? Yes! God is lavish. Money is no object. Only self righteous religious people are stingy. God is very generous. No one out gives your father! Ask Holy Spirit, to show you any places you think God is stingy towards you.
A feast for a sinner? Yes!! He not only likes to serve food, he likes to hang out, laugh, and have fun with people. This includes you. The father is a people person. He is an extrovert. Remember, you look like him. Of course, he likes to hang out with you.

The Father loves hugs
The Father embraced his son happily after he returned from his wrong living. Jesus said if you have seen me, you have seen the Father. Jesus treated sinners the same way. This is very telling. Sinners flocked to Jesus. Why? Because Jesus showed the heart of the Father to all humans! They were created in his image and he wanted to hang around them. What an amazing family we are a part of!

The Father embraced his youngest son coming back home. Let’s say it a different way. The Father hugged failure! He hugged unholiness. He hugged sin. Why? Because he knew his righteousness was big enough to cover any failures, unholiness, and sin when we run to the Father. When you fail, walk in unholiness, and sin, quickly run to the Father. He will hug you too.
In verse 25 it says there was ‘music and dancing’. When I was younger, I was raised in a church that said no dancing and I believed it. How wrong I was! The Father is a dancer. He dances over you! Thank the Father now for his dance. Say, “Father, I thank you that you dance over me. I want to dance with you right now!”

The Father throws aways his lists
Do you think the Father keeps a ‘list’ on you of what wrongs you have done? He knows about them, but where was the list when the younger son came home? When you are his son, he throws the list away when you run home to him. When Jesus paid for all your sins – your list – on the cross, he said, “It is finished.” Maybe you need to throw away your list you have for yourself. It would be a great start to understand the Father.

You cannot lose your inheritance. You can delay it by your behavior. But as soon as you run back to Father, he starts working on getting you positioned for your inheritance. When Father gave the Runaway prodigal son a robe, ring, and shoes, it was a statement that I am going to reposition you for inheritance even though you don’t deserve it. It was a statement about your future, but it was even more a statement about your Father’s present. He remains your father always!

Look the Father in the eyes
We have to repent for our sin and running away from Father. But after that, we need to leave regrets, and thoughts of our unworthiness behind. Instead, we focus on looking Father in the eyes. Once the son returned with repentance, Father stopped listening to the son wanting to just be a servant. s in The Message Translation says, “But the father wasn’t listening.” Wow!
When we mess up, we want so bad to do something to make up for it. We think if we keep humbling our self after repentance, we will somehow win our way back into God’s heart. After you repent, envision Father running towards you with a ring, robe, and shoes in his hand. He also has a smile on his face, making plans for a feast with dancing. This is hard on us because we don’t understand someone being so good to us. But Father is. The next thing we know he is hugging and kissing us!

The picture of Father running to a repentant returning prodigal son is one of the most powerful pictures in the Bible (Luke 15). It shows that it is not about us and all about who He is. Can he really be this good? Yes. Why? This is just who he is. A smiling, laughing Father bearing gifts. Picture it today, tomorrow, and forever.

If the Father threw a party for his son coming home in this parable, can you imagine the parties for all you when you go to heaven? Can you imagine the party the Marriage Supper of the Bride to Jesus? I can’t wait. A party of parties! Hebrew marriage parties lasted 7 days. My guess it is that it will be at least that long! Never forget that Jesus loves parties. His first miracle was at a wedding. That is a prophetic picture! He parties over and with you.

The church who parties
There are all kinds of churches – evangelistic, teaching, discipleship, etc. What about the church who parties? It would be biblical and accurate. Something to think about church leaders. Celebrations all of the time because we have been restored to relationship with the Father.

When you stop having fun you might be acting like the older brother in this parable of the Prodigal Son. The older brother was someone who had little joy but acted perfect. Don’t be this type of Christian. A party will reveal how much real revelation you have of the Father. He is a partier. A partier because he carries so much joy he can’t keep from enjoying life. There is your thought for the day. Go back to where you stopped having fun and start over.

Why was the older brother so bitter? He thought life was obtained by following a list of to-dos. When his younger brother got a celebration after breaking all of the to-dos, he got bitter. He had lived according to the wrong view of life. How confused he must have been? No confusion for you to day. The way to life is through repentance and running back to the father. A party awaits you!

Do you keep check lists for God?
One of the saddest verses to me is verse 28 about the older brother: “Then the older son became angry and wouldn’t go into the house.” Why? The theological grid he saw the world through was wrong and felt what the Father was doing was wrong. Why is this sad? The older brother had kept all the check lists correctly in his mind, but he missed the Father’s heart. He even corrected the Father. When other people are rewarded when we don’t think they deserve it, we are thinking the same as the older brother. When that happens, ask God to understand his heart towards you.

The father is very gracious. He gave half of what he had to the younger brother. He gave the other half to the older brother then. It says in verse12, “So the father divided his property between his two sons.” The older brother had already been rewarded and didn’t know it. All he could see in his day-to-day life was his! Today, realize the father is gracious towards you now. Don’t earn a relationship or anything else from God. Prayer guide: “Father, help to enjoy you and your lavish gifts now. Let me see what you have already done. Open my eyes.”

Don’t say no to the Father but yes
Verse 28 is another sad verse: “His father came out and begged him to come in.” The older brother resisted and said no to what the Father was asking him to do. We resist the Father when we say no to things he asks. The need for the things of God to make sense to us in our theological grid keeps us from receiving good things. The ability to trust the Father without understanding is a rare quality, but one needed to go to the celebration with him.

Which son do you identify most with in this parable? The younger son who believes he has ruined his life and there is no hope? The older son who is doing everything mostly right, and that is the reason for his hope? Both sons needed to walk in humility. Younger son needed to realize it was not about him. It was about the Father. Older son needed to realize it was also not about him. It was again about the Father. Today, whichever son we most identify with, let’s follow Micah 6:8b “This is what the LORD requires from you …. to live humbly with your God.”

If you identify with the younger brother, don’t allow people in your church to stop celebrating and turn it into a mindless movement of religion. Don’t sell yourself short. Your joy of being restored to the family is contagious, and we need it. Don’t let self-righteousness that looks good on the outside become the norm. When the fun stops, religious activity has entered.

If you identify with the older brother, realize your worth is not determined by a balance sheet of what you do or don’t do. You are not the sum of your deeds. You are a son who has his inheritance now and may not realize it. The Father wants to remove the weight of performance. It Is a heavy load. Remove the weight of performance today by enjoying the Father without a care of trying to impress him.

The Father wants to throw a party for you
Father God has the worst reputation in the world. Some people think he is not interested in throwing a party for them because they don’t deserve it. Or, they think God is mad at them and wants to punish them. Some people think he is stingy and is not interested in celebrating with them. If this is you, go to the Father today and ask for his forgiveness. You have missed understood him and it is time to start a new understanding of him. Ask him for his help in reversing your opinion of him.

In closing, I encourage you to memorize verse 20, “He ran to his son, put his arms around him, and kissed him.” This is the one of the most powerful truths in the Bible. Memorize it, meditate on it, review it until it moves from your head to your heart. Let it migrate from your mind to your emotions. This is a truth that needs to be a foundation of your walk with God. He ran, hugged, and kissed. This is the Father you follow.