Meditator
"You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?...Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” -Matthew 7:9-11, NLT
People have strange ideas about God. They figure He is basically angry—poised to throw a lightning bolt any minute. Maybe He’s too busy, too high and mighty for their trivial interests. Not on your life, says Jesus! God, you see, is a Daddy. He loves to see us smile, to give us gifts, and to have us draw near and seek His love.
Somebody said God carries your picture in His wallet. What picture of God do you carry in your mind?
Model
It’s a timeless story. It never grows old because it never stops happening, in every place, at every time.
It’s the one about the son stumbling home, worn out and penniless, with no other place to go.
Not long ago, he was riding high, living hard. While the money held out, the friends hung on. But there had to be a morning after; deep down, he always knew it. Now he must grovel before his father, listen to angry lectures, and hope the old man will let him in through the back door, where the servants come and go.
You know the ending. With home just ahead, Father comes running. Tears flow, not lectures. This is the happiest day of Dad’s life. His boy is back and in his arms! As soon as he stopped laughing and weeping, he starts planning, directing—a party is thrown. A feast is held, and Dad pulls him over to the side and says, “Everything I have is yours. It was always that way. I thought you understood.”
And the son thinks to himself, “How could I have been so dense? How is it that I’ve gone all my life without really knowing who I had for a father?
Magnifier
Today, I want you to think very hard about your conception of God.
I find that people build their ideas of Him on bad models. Some people have had tough relationships with their parents, so they expect the same kind of trouble with God.
I can’t read that story by Jesus, the one about the father and the son, without feeling deep emotion. Jesus wanted to say, “God is like that! When you walk toward Him, He runs toward you. He wonders why you want to hang out with bad company, when His is so joyful; why you would trudge wearily down the road rather than hurry to the party He has thrown in your honor.
Isn’t it about time you admit that He loves you and He’s not going to stop?
