We Are Loved: The Father Runs to Meet You

Introduction

Fourth message in the "Our Identity in God" series at CVV Paris. Ben opens Luke 15 on the parable of the prodigal son and lays out one of the foundations of our identity: we are loved. Three characters, three ways of learning to receive this love, the younger son who leaves, the father who runs, and the older brother who broods. Whether you grew up far from God or in a Christian family, there's a place for you in this text.

Message Outline

1. The younger son: you have never fallen too low for God

• Ben begins by grounding the cultural weight of the younger son's request. Asking for his inheritance while his father is still alive, in ancient Jewish culture, is like saying to him: "Father, I wish you were already dead." It's a serious act of rebellion, a public shame on the family, and a total renunciation of the family bond.
• Surprisingly, the father agrees and shares his estate. The son quickly sells everything, travels far, squanders it all "living in debauchery," then ends up feeding pigs (the ultimate impure animal), without even being able to eat their food. Ben insists: Jesus pushes the illustration to its limit. This young man could not have fallen any lower.
• A writing found among ancient manuscripts says roughly: "My sons, do not give your inheritance to non-Jews, lest you be humiliated before them. They will trample you and become your masters." For Jesus's listeners, the only possible outcome for this son was rejection. The Jewish community of the time would even break a jar in front of someone who lost his inheritance among pagans, to signify that he was cut off from the people.
• And Jesus, as so often, reverses the expectation. The father sees the son from afar, runs to him (a patriarch never ran, it was shameful), throws his arms around his neck, kisses him, orders the finest robe, the ring that speaks of his restored place, the sandals that remind him he is a son and not a servant, the fattened calf for the greatest celebration.
• Ben's first lesson: there is no depth (of sorrow, mistake, regret, or distance), from which God cannot lift you up and honor you. The joy of heaven is immense when you return to him (Luke 15:7, Luke 15:10).

2. The Father: a love that runs, extravagant and active

• Ben pauses on this image of the father who "throws his dignity to the wind." He ignores the judgment of his community, which had endured the shame of the son for years. He sees only this son who is coming back. This is the portrait of God toward you.
• You may be expecting a stern conversation: "Here's what you did, it wasn't right." The reality is that God rejoices when the one who was far away returns. We were all, at one point, in the position of the younger son.
• Ben addresses those who have been Christians for a long time, or who grew up in a Christian family: you too were deprived of the glory of God, you too had a celebration when you came to him, and God's smile is always upon you as you walk with him.
• At the cross, Jesus took upon himself the shame of our rebellion. He died naked, like a criminal, before mockers. "He took the shame so that our shame could be covered with the finest robe." This is the exchange of the cross. The robe, the ring, the sandals, Christ gives us all of this.
• God's fundamental view of you is not "6 out of 10 this week, you can do better." It's a look of love. Not a "sappy" love, Ben clarifies. An active love: "I am for you, I am with you, I see your sufferings, I will speak to you, I will put people around you to support you, I will strengthen you to walk all the way to the end."
• Ben reads two psalms. Psalm 139:7-8: "Where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there." Psalm 40:3 (LSG): "He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay. He set my feet upon a rock." If you are far away, come back. If you are in sin, turn from it, 1 John 1:9 promises that he is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse. If you are sad, bitter, brokenhearted, draw near to him today.

3. The older brother: don't judge those who return

• The older brother refuses to enter the celebration. He points out his younger brother's faults: "this son of yours who has devoured your property with prostitutes." He would have preferred to see him work hard to regain approval, or bear his shame for the rest of his life.
• Ben recalls the context of Luke 15: tax collectors and "sinners" were drawing near to Jesus, and the Pharisees grumbled that Jesus "welcomed sinners and ate with them." The three parables in this chapter (the lost sheep, the lost coin, the prodigal son), respond to this accusation.
• Ben shares a personal memory. As a teenager in Brighton, in his youth group, there was a violent, angry boy who had had a very difficult childhood. One day, this boy pushed him and he hit his head against the wall. Angry, Ben went to tell a leader: "He shouldn't be part of this group." Looking back, he sees this as a mistake: believing that someone who hasn't had the same journey has less of a place in the church than he does.
• The church is not a gathering of nice, well-behaved people. It's a group of people who were lost, sometimes broken, sometimes in sin, who found life and forgiveness in Jesus Christ again. Many are still on the journey, and they have their place. 1 Peter 4:7-9: "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling."
• The older brother is sad too, because he ignored his father's love for years. He thought it had to be earned. Ben asks: do you read Scripture as a beloved son or daughter, or while doubting your worth before God? If you cannot manage to receive this love, ask the Holy Spirit, who reveals our adoption (Romans 8:15), to make you cry out "Abba, Father" from the depths of your heart.

4. Becoming, in turn, a picture of the Father's love

• The father in the parable reflects our heavenly Father. Wherever you hold authority (as a parent, as a manager, as a leader), you have the opportunity to influence how those who depend on you will picture God.
• Ben speaks first to parents. Loving our children requires attention. He tells the story of a child who, on vacation, broke down while saying goodbye to an adult who had played with him, because his own parents, too caught up in work, lacked time for him.
• Loving also means setting boundaries. Proverbs teaches us to help a child follow the right path. A well-set boundary secures the child, protects the couple, and allows the family to flourish over the long term. Psychologists say the same thing.
• Finally, knowing how to communicate love even when correcting. A "time out" to show that some things aren't acceptable, then taking the child in your arms and saying "I forgive you, I love you." Ben sees in this a picture of God with us: when he corrects us, his love is no less real. He corrects us and he takes us in his arms.
• Ben closes with Victor Hugo: "The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved, loved for ourselves, or rather loved in spite of ourselves." God loves us in spite of ourselves. Today, you can stand in his love.

Key Takeaways

• There is no depth too great (of sorrow, mistake, or distance), from which God cannot lift you up and honor you.
• The joy of heaven is immense when someone returns to God. We were all, at one point, in the position of the prodigal son.
• At the cross, Jesus took your shame so that your shame could be covered with the finest robe. This is the exchange of the gospel.
• God's love is not a "sappy" feeling, it's an active love: he speaks to you, surrounds you with people, strengthens you to walk all the way to the end.
• The church is not a club for nice people. It's a people drawn out of the mud. Those still on the journey have their place, let's welcome them, and let ourselves be welcomed.

Personal Application

1. Is there an area of your life (a sin, a distance, a bitter heart), where you believe God can no longer lift you up? What first step can you take to return to him this week?
2. When you read Scripture, do you read it as a beloved son or daughter, or while doubting your worth before God? What would change if you read it as an adopted child?
3. Is there someone around you (family, church, friends), toward whom you play the role of the older brother who judges instead of rejoicing? How will you show them that their place is secured?
4. If you're a parent, what concrete space of attention can you offer your child this week? What fair boundary can you set without forgetting to say "I love you" after the correction?
5. If you're struggling to feel God's love, will you dare ask the Holy Spirit to concretely reveal your adoption to you, as he did for Ben when he received the certainty of being loved?

Scripture References

• Luke 15:11-32 · the parable of the prodigal son
• Luke 15:1-2 · the Pharisees grumble: "this man receives sinners"
• Luke 15:7 · more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
• Luke 15:10 · the joy of the angels when someone returns to God
• Psalm 139:7-8 · where shall I flee from your presence?
• Psalm 40:3 · he drew me up from the miry clay, he set my feet upon a rock
• 1 John 1:9 · he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us
• Romans 8:15 · you have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry "Abba, Father"
• 1 Peter 4:7-9 · love covers a multitude of sins, show hospitality without grumbling

Frequently Asked Questions

I have really done too much wrong in my life. Can God still welcome me?

This is precisely the message of the parable. Jesus pushes the portrait of the younger son to its furthest extreme (a young Jew feeding pigs among pagans and wanting to eat their food), to tell you that there is no depth from which God cannot lift you up. The father runs, throws his arms around his neck, kisses him. The joy of heaven bursts forth when you return. What you may be expecting is a harsh conversation. What God is preparing is a celebration and the finest robe.

I've been a Christian my whole life. Does this text apply to me too?

Ben insists on this point. You too were deprived of the glory of God, you too had a celebration in heaven when you came to him, and God's smile is always upon you. The danger, when you've been a Christian for a long time, is becoming the older brother: forgetting the extravagance of the Father's love, believing you deserve it, and struggling to accept those who arrive with imperfect lives. The question to ask yourself: do you read the Bible as a beloved son, or as an employee who must prove his worth?

How can I concretely feel this love of God when I feel nothing?

Ben testifies to a moment when someone was praying for him: he felt the Spirit of God and had the certainty of being loved. His recommendation: ask the Holy Spirit directly (the one who reveals our adoption and makes us cry out "Abba, Father"), to make you experience this reality. At the same time, reread the Scriptures as an adopted child, not as someone on trial. Draw near to him today: in prayer, in the Word, in the church where others can walk this road with you.