Bring Out Your Fatherly Love (Luke 15:11-24)

by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung

This world desperately needs love. We all want others to love us, because we all need more and more love. But our problem is we find it is easier to love ourselves and harder to love others. We find it difficult to bring out our love. In the church, we mouth slogans – love one another, love God and love others, but we stop at uttering these slogans. Sometimes, when we hear too much of these, we become numbed. How then can we truly bring out love? Today, I want to use the story of the prodigal son to reflect with you on “bringing out love”.

The most important verse in the ‘Parable of the Prodigal Son’ is verse 20. ‘But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.’

There are five words of action in this verse: 1. saw 2. filled with compassion 3. ran 4. threw his arms around him 5. kissed him. The father didn’t say a word, but he did all these. May the Lord help us bring out our love.

I. When he saw the prodigal child, he was filled with compassion

“While he was still a long way off, his father saw… was filled with compassion.” What did this father see such that he was moved with compassion? If he had seen the prodigal as a black sheep returning home, if he had seen him as one who had wasted half his wealth away, if he had seen him as one who had fooled around with prostitutes, if he had seen him as an un-filial son, do you think he would have been filled with compassion? Our eyes are remarkable.

If your heart is filled with love, when you see a pitiful person in front of you, you are moved to help him. If there is no love in your heart, when you see a poor person before you, you feel loathe for him. Your heart influenced your eyes. What did this father see?

1. He saw a hurt son returning home

The father was filled with compassion because he saw a son who had already been hurt. We can just imagine his appearance. We must not forget that he was sent to feed pigs, and in fact, he became so hungry that he wanted to eat the pigs’ food. His whole appearance must have greatly changed. One look could tell that he had suffered greatly and that he must have been severely hurt. If you truly love that person, seeing him hurt, won’t you be affected? When you see someone you love hurt, would you still rebuke and criticize him?

2. He saw a teachable son returning home

This prodigal had once been extremely arrogant, he dared tell his father, “Give me my share of the estate.” In eastern culture, it is very improper to ask for one’s inheritance while the father is still alive. In his arrogance, the prodigal son saw no one, and he didn’t acknowledge God. Now, he was a completely changed man. All his arrogance was gone. Sometimes, we become too proud, we think too highly of ourselves, we feel that we are better than everyone. Then, God would allow us to experience failure, to let us know that we are but only human, that we have nothing to boast about. In that way, we become humble. At this time, in his father’s eyes, the arrogant son is already dead, it is a humble son returning home. And at this time, he is most teachable.

This father was truly perceptive, he saw that it was now a teachable son returning home, that he now had a rare opportunity, thus, he showed him unconditional acceptance.

II. He ran and threw his arms around his son

This father, upon seeing his son, was filled with compassion. But if he had not taken any action, the prodigal son would have remained a prodigal son. This is our problem. When we see a person, who had sinned and fallen, return, our hearts also fill with compassion, but we do not act. Our mouths would only say, “How pitiful!” We say that, but how many of us would take action to truly rescue the prodigal son?

The father ran to embrace the prodigal son. This was not an easy thing to do. Not because he was an old man, but because of his stature as a father. To the Chinese, a father is a father, a son is a son. For a father to ran and embrace his son is really difficult. Fathers! Bring out your fatherly love. Are you willing to make the first move and embrace your son? Fathers, let down your fatherly pride, and embrace your children, show them support and concern. We must learn to accept them before we try to teach them. If we do not accept our children, neither will they accept our teachings.

III. He accepted the prodigal son anew

When the father saw him, his heart was filled with compassion. When the father ran and embraced his son, he also kissed him. These actions touched his son deeply. Before he returned, this son had already prepared what he was going to say.

Verse 18 -19, “I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.”

However, when he saw his father, he said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” If we try to compare these two statements, we will notice that he only spoke half of what he had planned to say. Why? There are two possibilities: 1. The father refused to let him finish. 2. He was too ashamed to finish his sentence, because seeing his father’s unconditional acceptance, he felt he wasn’t even worthy to be his father’s servant.

Some people said it right: If on that day, the prodigal son did not meet his father first, but that it was his brother he first met, the prodigal son would not have returned. The prodigal’s brother, seeing his father’s renewed acceptance of his brother, became very angry. He was not willing to enter the house when his father asked him to go in.

He told his father, “Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!”

From the older brother’s statement, we see that he was very self-righteous. He said, “I have never disobeyed your orders.” He compared himself with his prodigal brother, feeling he was above his brother. “He had disobeyed you and I had never disobeyed your orders. I had never done anything wrong, it is the other who is wrong.”

A person like this finds it hard to show mercy. A person who has never felt he needed mercy will find it hard to show mercy. On the contrary, a person who had received mercy will find it easier to give mercy. A person who had made mistakes will find it easier to accept another person who makes mistakes. A sinner will find it easier to accept another sinner.

May more people in the church be like the father, and less like the brother, if not, all the prodigals would be driven away. Bring out your love!