God the Father, Part Three
The Wise and Loving Father
31st July 2026
Arguably the most powerful description Jesus gave us of God the Father is in the parable of the prodigal son, which might be better named the parable of the wise and loving Father. I don't intend to try to say anything new or clever about it, but I'd like us to focus on the Father, not on the son, in the story this time. It begins:
Luke 15v11-13
… "There was a man who had two sons.
And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of
property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them.
Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey
into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless
living."
God the Father has many children, and we're all different. Our heavenly Father knows everything about each one of us and He treats us as individuals. He knows what we need, and He knows what we want, which is often very different. He knows how to teach us. And He loves us enough to let us walk away.
As 1 Peter 1v3-4 says, God the Father has guaranteed us an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. However, sadly, like the younger son, many of us have at some time decided that living in our heavenly Father's house, staying close to God and doing what our Father wants, and waiting for our eternal inheritance in glory, wasn't enough. We had earthly ambitions, earthly desires, and we were willing to walk away from God to satisfy those desires. Haven't we?
Some of us haven't done that yet, but perhaps they will. Let me implore you: don't walk away from God. Maybe you're under pressure. Maybe you're under strong temptation. Maybe you feel like things aren't working out the way you hoped. But walking away from God always leads to misery. I've seen too many wrecked lives. Don't do it.
God our Father lets us go. He loves us so much that He gives us free will. God the Father knows, of course, that our bad choices will lead to bad outcomes but He lets us make them. God the Father knows that while we're away from Him, like the younger son, we'll squander what we have: our spiritual well-being, our emotional well-being, our prayer life, our Bible study, perhaps our church fellowship. He knows we'll become unhappy on earth. He knows that we won't lay up any treasure in heaven while we're away. But He wants us to be able to choose Him, and that's not really a choice unless we're able not to choose Him, but to choose something else.
Luke 15v14-16
"And when he [the younger son] had spent everything, a severe famine
arose in that country, and he began to be in need.
So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who
sent him into his fields to feed pigs.
And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave
him anything."
God the Father knows that if we walk away we'll end up miserable. Your version of eating with the pigs might be different, but you will end up degraded and spiritually and emotionally empty.
Luke 15v17-19
"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired
servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!
I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have
sinned against heaven and before you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired
servants."'
How many of us have prayed a prayer like that at some time?
God the Father knows everything. He knows the future. If you walk away, God the Father knows what you'll do. He knows the price you'll pay. And He knows when you'll come to your senses. You'll admit to yourself that you were happier and healthier when you were living with God. He'll give you the gift of repentance. Often, He'll let you get into circumstances – physical, financial, emotional, relational, spiritual – that are so painful that repentance is much easier than staying away. He knows that, eventually, you'll realise that repentance is common sense. But why not save yourself the grief, and the pain and the loneliness?
Luke 15v20
"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."
No matter where you've been, no matter what you've done, God the Father welcomes you back to His house. That's not a grudging welcome. He doesn't want to make you feel guilty. You already feel guilty. He wants to make you feel loved. God the Father runs towards you to embrace you, to give you a hug. He still wants to be your Father, and He always will.
The Father in the parable never abandoned His son. God the Father will never abandon you. As 2 Timothy 2v13 says, "if we are faithless, he remains faithful."
When you turn away from your heavenly Father you probably won't be aware that He's watching over you all the time, but He is. He's waiting for you to realise that His house is the best place to live, His family is the best family to be part of, His way to live is the best way to live.
Luke 15v21-24
"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.'
But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put
it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.
And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.
For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.'
And they began to celebrate."
When we live with Father God, He will chastise us sometimes, but only for our good (Hebrews 12v5-11). When we run away, He'll let the consequences of our bad choices discipline us. When we come home, He'll celebrate us.
And can we agree, brothers and sisters, that when any Christian who foolishly runs away from God the Father comes to his senses and returns, and comes to church again, we won't criticise him; we'll celebrate him, too? Let's be children of our Father.
This is God the Father, the One who always does what's right, always does what's loving, but it's tough love, authoritative love, strong love, wise love. And it's celebratory love. Earlier in this chapter, Jesus said, "there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance" (Luke 15v7).
There will be joy when you come back.
Our Father in heaven lets us make mistakes. He lets us learn lessons the hard way. Sometimes that's the only way we'll learn. He welcomes us home, and He celebrates us. Our commitment to Him may change. His commitment to us will never change.
Luke 15v25-28
"Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the
house, he heard music and dancing.
And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.
And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the
fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.'
But he was angry and refused to go in."
Like the younger son, we're all capable of allowing earthly desires to pull us away from God. That's why we pray "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil". And like the older son, we're all capable of being proud, self-satisfied, critical, judging ourselves to be morally superior to our brother when we don't know his circumstances and the temptation he's been suffering. We're all capable of wanting to criticise, or even ostracise, our brother in Christ when He's fallen. Paul taught us better. In Galatians 6v1, he wrote, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness..."
Gentleness is a key Christian virtue. That verse in Galatians continues, "… Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted."
The elder brother had fallen into a different kind of sin from his younger brother, but envy, resentment, criticism, superiority is still sin.
Back to the parable.
Luke 15v28 ends:
"His father came out and entreated him"
God the Father entreats us, His children. He doesn't have to entreat us; He has the right to simply demand obedience from us. The Greek word translated as "entreated" here is parakaleo. It literally means "to call alongside". These days, we might say "reach out to". When our attitude or our actions are wrong, God the Father reaches out to us, entreats us, beseeches us, encourages us, reasons with us, to get it right. God seldom threatens us, although He does warn us of the consequences of our sin.
Luke 15v29-30
"but he [the elder son] answered his father, 'Look, these many years I
have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me
a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.
But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with
prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!'"
Bitterness is a sin.
Be careful when you criticise your brother or sister in Christ. You're criticising God's beloved child. Your brother sins, and so do you. And God the Father knows all your sins, as well as all your brother's.
Luke 15v31-32
"And he [the Father] said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all
that is mine is yours.
It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead,
and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'"
God the Father sent His own precious Son, Jesus Christ, to die to pay for our sins. He gives us His Holy Spirit. He promises us eternity in glory. He wants to share His home in heaven with us. He has been, and will always be, amazingly generous to us. He gives us so much more than we deserve.
We don't always get our version of a young goat to celebrate with our friends. Our heavenly Father wants us to take responsibility, to face hardships, to grow up. He wants us, like Paul and others, to be willing to suffer for the Gospel. But He has shown us such kindness, such forgiveness, such patience, such love. He's given us such faith, such peace, such hope. He's given us eternal life. He loves us, and He wants us to be with Him.
And if we've been away, if we've got our priorities seriously wrong, if we've indulged our flesh when we should have been mortifying it, if we've neglected to worship and glorify God, and serve our neighbours by sharing the Gospel of Jesus with them, and if eventually we come to our senses and return to our Father, then God the Father will not chastise us, He'll celebrate and be glad because we're home again.
This is God the Father, the One with all authority, the One who created us, and sent Jesus to save us, and sends the Holy Spirit to comfort us and guide us, the One who sets us a perfect example of how to live and how to love, the One who forgives us, the One who answers our prayers and provides for our needs, the One who rewards us, the One who entreats us to live wisely and to forgive each other, the One who wants us live in His house for all eternity.
His is, indeed, the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever. Praise His holy Name!