One of the most tender stories recorded for us in all of Scripture is that found in Luke 15 of the son who loses his way and then returns to his father. How often I have felt as that lost son; distant, lonely, isolated from the love of God. Whether I find myself in the depths of sin in the far country or in the loneliness of unfulfilled ministry, surely there is a bit of that wasteful, riotous, spoiled child in all of us. Why did he stray so far from the teachings of the father? Was it just meanness? A cry for help? A genuine curiosity about what lay beyond the borders of his father's farm?
Perhaps we will never know. Dickens called it the greatest short story ever told. I agree. What are not recorded for us are the parting words of the father. He must have said, or at least demonstrated, that his love was continuous, even in the face of his son's rebellion.
Here is a song by Tracy Chapman called "The Promise." It speaks about the true nature of that kind of love. A love that stays put and waits for the wayward. A love that never lets go. A love that is set as a seal upon the heart. Love that abides.
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