The story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 12-31) has been brought back into my mind recently. I’m especially connecting with the part where the father runs out to meet the son. I feel that God is inviting me to experience even more the exhilaration of his eager love, which actually runs to meet me.

I have known that God is love since I was a little girl and knew this story well. It pulls the heartstrings of young and old. It is mind blowing to me that a father would run out to welcome a son who asked for his inheritance early and spent it all on silly stuff.  This is the heart of our God – He welcomes us despite our wrongs and ignorance. Such unconditional love, that He eagerly awaits conversation with us, where we share our thoughts and off-load our burdens. He just stands in the driveway waiting for us to “come home”. He’s ready with arms outstretched but we often hesitate to run home.  Why hold back from such a loving father?

Sometimes distractions have held me back. My spiritual ignorance outstays its welcome in my subconscious; Jesus is stirs and awakens my lazy mind. More and more I find myself in a humble place where He meets, washes and teaches me. Spurred on by His grace, my vision is renewed along with my resolve to reach greater heights for Him. Yet I still fall short and get distracted, easily falling into the autopilot of my own independence.

It’s not that many of us would have literally been spending money in wild living or eaten food from a pig’s trough, but I think that sometimes guilt holds us back from God.  We would like to be in a better place but don’t know how to get there. Life gets yucky and we get caught in cycles of our own making as we try to fix ourselves, slipping and injuring ourselves in the process.

Experiencing depression years ago was a rut that I struggled to climb out of.  I yearned to be set free and to find God again. One important step was rediscovering who God really is; that He is sovereign and knows what’s good for me better than I do. I also rediscovered His powerful and life-changing grace. This rediscovery of God helped me to humble myself and let go of cynical and negative mindsets and experience true joy.

The turning point for the son in the story was when he humbled himself. He realized that he didn’t want to be in the pigpen any longer and longed for the security of home. He prepared himself to say to his father, “I have sinned and I am not worthy to be called your son, but I’ll do anything, anything, to be back home”. He didn’t know how his father would receive him. But when he arrived home, not only was he welcomed before he even reached the front door, his arrival was celebrated! The father didn’t question his motives (the older son was more into that); his welcome was unconditional. I love the fact that we don’t have to climb large steps, say certain prayers, spend hours in the bible, confess every sin to God or do hours of work for Him before we receive the embrace of God. We just need to realize that we need Him, come home with our sorry hearts and let Him teach us from there.

I love that God is not afraid of our mud – he embraces us fully, straight from the pen! I praise God for his loving hand and welcoming arms that lifted me and led me along His healing path. He is always faithful and always in control. I don’t wish for any amount of guilt or “mud” to hold me back from approaching Him.  As He runs to meet me, I want to be free to meet Him with eagerness and expectation and just worship Him. Not go through the motions because I feel I have to and not hold back for any reason! He deserves it because He is our perfect, faithful Father and Creator.

Time to be honest:

As God invites you to experience more of His eager love, can you picture Him running to meet you, warts and all?

What might sometimes hold you back from running to Him?

How are you prepared to respond to God today?