Tip of My Iceberg

He’d been in the hospital for a week, and tests were being run to discover the exact nature of his illness. His children hadn’t seen him during that time, as a precaution. They’d missed him terribly and could hardly wait for him to come home.

Coming home, however, wasn’t returning everything to normal. Ramsay wasn’t able to jump back into the routine because he needed to remain in quarantine for a few days till several of his tests came back.

They came home from school and immediately stood at their Dad’s window, like the audience of a celebrity. He peeked out with such warmth and compassion that the smiles that had lately been limited returned. They were so delighted with his presence that they hovered around a monitor just to see him.

There’s nothing like a responsive audience to encourage an individual.

Being loved well is something we all long for. We were created to love and be loved. Sometimes we don’t recognize what love looks like.

Jesus told the story of a well-off man who had two sons. The younger of the two, with incredible disrespect, demanded his inheritance before his father’s death. It was as if he were saying he wished his father were dead. Out of love for his son, the father gave him what he asked for, and the young man immediately left to live as he pleased.

This young man wasted all he’d been given on wild living. At the time his money ran out, a famine swept over the land, and this young man began to starve. He became desperate and talked a farmer into hiring him to feed his pigs. This was a miserable situation to be in; Jews considered pigs to be unclean animals. Not only was he feeding them, but he couldn’t even satisfy his own hunger with their food.

He decided to return home, humbling himself before his father, and offered to become a hired servant instead of reclaiming his position as son.

While he was on his way home, his father, who’d been watching for him, saw him from a distance and ran to meet him. Men of his stature didn’t run anywhere at that time, but his love for his son triumphed over social etiquette.

His son would have been filthy, having fed and most likely slept with pigs. He would have smelled of the offensive animals, to say nothing of the fact that he came back having lost all his inheritance. None of that mattered. The father was so filled with love and compassion that what his son had done didn’t deter him from pouring out his love for him. He covered him with his own robe, a picture of his restoration to full family status and acceptance. Sandals were given him; only sons wore sandals, not servants. He also gave his son a ring, a symbol of power and authority within the family.

Why? “We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.” Luke 16:23-24.

It’s the picture of God’s love for us, not based on what we’ve done, how we’ve messed up, or how we haven’t measured up. God’s love is one of choice–He made each of us in His image, with a purpose, and loves us with a passion we can’t begin to understand.

Ramsay is well-loved by his family. Not because of all he’d done for them, but as their father, he was an integral part of their lives. They knew he loved them; they wanted to demonstrate how much they loved him.

Do you sense the deep and abiding love of God for you?

All you have to do is ask.