God Loves Me Deeply After All

“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.” (Luke 15:20)

Sometimes the hardest part of coming back to God is believing that He really wants us back.

We know what we have done. We remember the ways we have wandered, the choices we regret, and the moments when we knew better but chose our own way anyway. We may believe that God will forgive us, but still wonder if our relationship with Him will ever be the same.

The younger son in Luke 15 had no expectation that it would be. He returned home prepared to confess his sin and ask for a place among his father’s servants. He knew he had done wrong, and he no longer believed he deserved to be called a son.

His father saw him differently.

Before the son could even reach home, his father ran to meet him. He embraced him and welcomed him back. When the son began his prepared speech, his father did not ask how he planned to repay what he had lost. Instead, he called for a robe, a ring, and sandals. These were signs that the young man still belonged in the family.

The son was looking at himself through the lens of his failure. His father was looking at him through the lens of their relationship.

Shame often causes us to make the same mistake. Guilt recognizes that we have done something wrong. Shame takes it further and tells us that what we have done is now the defining truth about who we are.

God's grace tells us something different.

Grace does not pretend that our sin does not matter or that our choices have no consequences. It reminds us that our failures do not have the final word on our identity. When we belong to Christ, our worth is not built on a record of good behavior that disappears the moment we fail. It rests in the grace and character of God.

The father did more than allow his son to return. He celebrated because his son was home. Jesus gives us this picture so that we can understand something about the heart of God. He is not waiting for us to make ourselves worthy before He welcomes us. He desires restoration.

That restoration came at a cost. Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus paid the cost that we could never repay ourselves. The cross is the clearest evidence that God's love for us is more than a feeling. He has demonstrated it.

When shame tells you that you have wandered too far, remember the Father running down the road.

When you wonder whether God could still want you after everything you have done, look to the cross.

You do not have to earn your way home. In Christ, God has already made a way.

Reflect

• Is there something from your past that you have allowed to define the way you see yourself?

• Do you find it easier to believe in God's forgiveness or to believe in His complete acceptance? Why?

• What does the father's response to his son teach you about God's character?

• How does the cross help you trust that God's love for you is real?

Prayer

Father, thank You for loving me with a love I could never earn. When shame causes me to define myself by my failures, remind me that my identity is found in You. Help me trust Your grace and believe that, through Jesus, You have made a way for me to come home. Amen.