A True Father’s Response
A True Father’s Investment In, and Response To, Repentance
“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’” (Luke 15:20–24 ESV)
The father in Jesus’s parable had invested a lot more than DNA into his son. He had advanced him his time, love, example, provision, and finally, a significant portion of his life’s accumulated possessions. This dad had risked a gigantic wager, if you like, through what he had sown into this young man; he gambled on it sprouting, taking root, and coming to harvest. With so much at stake, no doubt he was as attentive to that home-road as the punter to the horse race or the farmer to the weather.
The father was hoping for repentance—a change in his son’s thinking—about his father’s values and way of doing life. The boy left home arrogantly thinking he knew better. But his return signalled that his father’s investment had worked. He had finally had an epiphany—a wake-up moment that changed his thinking, his words, and his actions:
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(Luke 15:17-18 NKJV) “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! (18) I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.”’”
Finally the repentant younger son was ready to not only enjoy what his father had earned, but to sit at his feet and be shaped by what his father had learned.
Remembering that the father in this story reveals God the Father, we see what he values so clearly. He loved his son far more than his money. He risked releasing his wealth to gain his son. His fatherly love is clearly demonstrated by the fact that he was first to see him; this was because he was continually watching for him. This godly father felt nothing but compassion for the returning prodigal; he couldn’t stop himself from running to his son, embracing him, and kissing him. Simply by observing his return—no matter how he smelled or what he had been through—this wise father knew that the ultimate change had taken place inside his boy; he had changed his thinking about his dad and his way of “doing life.” On this foundation, his father could now complete his dream of raising a wise son in his image.
How much are you prepared to invest into the risky venture of bringing others to repentance? The father in Jesus’s parable released a significant portion of his accumulated assets into it. The money loving Pharisees thought this was ridiculous (See: Luke 16:14). But Jesus taught it in explanation of why he would invest his time and risk his reputation receiving and eating with sinners. He eventually invested his life into the hope that some would come to repentance. Again, the question is, “How much are we prepared to sink into ventures, programs, events, and visions in the uncertain hope of producing repentance in sinners?