The Power of Love

We have all had distorted pictures of God in our minds. Some might see him as an angry judge, sitting and watching for one of us to step out of line and then zap us and give us what we deserve.  Or maybe we have another of the commonly assumed pictures of God that has him sitting behind a set of balance scales. All our good deeds are placed on one side, and all our sins are placed on the other and we just have to make sure the good outweighs the bad. 

The real picture of God can be seen in one word.......LOVE.

Please read Luke 15.....yes, all of it.  Remember the three stories, but also remember the situation in which Jesus tells them . ¹ Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Would you leave your flock of 99 sheep to go looking for one that is lost?  Jesus told this parable to teach the love the Shepherd has for the lost.  That paints an adequate picture of God's love for you.

I can visualize the woman in the next story, sweeping hurriedly through her home, and holding her lamp close to the floor until the lost coin was found. There is another picture of how eager God is to find us when we are lost. 

The longest of the three stories is about the lost son, which we have called the prodigal son. Throughout the story of his leaving home, demanding his inheritance, living wildly, and ending up in the pig pen, God is preparing us for the greatest example of his love for us.  Did you see in the story, when the boy made those difficult steps toward home, the father saw him coming and RAN to meet him. The welcome-home party is the result of a father who loved a son, regardless of where he had been or what he had done.

There was another son in that family.  He was the one that stayed home and faithfully worked in the fields of his father.  We may reflect on him and think of how wonderful this son is.  He didn't run off. He had not wasted his inheritance. The story does not mention any actions of his life that were immoral.  However, watch in the story as this son shows himself as a lost son, too.  He was not a happy camper when his brother returned home penniless.  The brother coming back home had prompted a celebration party, given by the father.  Now the brother that stayed in the father's house is bitter and upset, no only because of his immoral brother, but because the father welcomed him back home.   The older brother was just as lost, even though he hadn't wasted his inheritance in sinful ways.  This is the brother who missed the point Jesus was teaching here, the power of real love. 

When we learn that love in all three stories, when lost things are found, there is rejoicing and celebration. Such is the picture of how much God loves you.

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