I love the idea of God totally accepting us, welcoming us into his arms, and even celebrating our return…no questions asked, just as the father in the passage of Luke 15:11-32 did with his youngest son, who squandered his money and lived with pigs. I love the idea of our Heavenly Father’s unconditional love, but do I really accept it, do I really understand it?

When I think of the story of the prodigal’s son, it brings to mind my young adulthood. I think of the car that my parents bought me when I was in high school. I felt so cool, driving around in my own black Subaru Loyal, the car that my parents trusted me enough to buy just for me!

Ok, so you are probably wondering. What does this has to do with God’s unconditional love? Well, I think I wrecked that car three times. It was stolen twice, and backed in to once. Each time something happened to that little car I had to go home and try to explain the story to my parents. I would recite what I was going to say before I was face to face with them. I was so embarrassed and ashamed to disappoint them again, but when I got home they would just put their arms around me and make sure that I was safe (however, there were some questions asked!). It was always hard for me to face them but each time I did I was reminded that they always accepted me back, no matter what mistake I had just made.

Our Father’s character is that of unconditional love, but what does that mean? I believe that when we are told not to do something, some people call it the “Law”, the Ten Commandments, or just the rules we are to live by, it is out of total love. Just like my parents told me, “Sami, don’t leave the keys in your car, it’s going to get stolen,” for my own benefit, our Heavenly Father only wants what is best for us. He does not put boundaries in our lives to send us straight to hell if we cross them. I am learning that He actually is trying to protect me from some potentially horrible consequences. Getting my head around this thought gives me a greater understanding of His unconditional love.

Luke 15:20 says, “So, he (the youngest son) got up and went to his father. 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.” Our Father knows we are coming home before we arrive. Everytime I pull into the driveway after I get into yet another car crash He is waiting with open arms, full of love…it is a beautiful thing.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 19th, 2006 at 6:56 pm and is filed under advent. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.