His Undying Love

Recently, I read an amazing book entitled The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen.  Nouwen quoted Kenneth Bailey that read:

“Kenneth Bailey, in his penetrating explanation of Luke’s story, shows that the son’s manner of leaving is tantamount to wishing his father dead. Bailey writes: For over fifteen years I have been asking people of all walks of life from Morocco to India and from Turkey to the Sudan about the implications of a son’s request for his inheritance while the father is still living. The answer has always been emphatically the same…the conversation runs as follows: Has anyone ever made such a request in your village? Never! Could anyone ever make such a request? Impossible! If anyone ever did, what would happen? His father would beat him, of course! Why? The request means – he wants his father to die.”

All the responses point us to the depth of the father’s love. Pride and anger would have stopped the father from receiving his returning son. Many earthly fathers could have long severed their relationship with such a wicked son but not this father. He did not allow unforgiveness and bitterness to deter him from reconciling with his beloved son. In fact, the word of God tells us that the aging father, upon seeing his younger son was moved to pity and he ran towards him. His love overshadowed any wrongdoing that his son had committed. Love truly covers a multitude of sins. He was determined to tell his son that nothing he has done will ever stop him from loving him. Since the day, the wayward son left home, his father’s hope for his return never dwindled. Love compelled the father to believe the impossible. Love compelled him to put away all pride and bitterness for all that mattered was his desire to see his son again. Love conquerered every conceivable human frailty and failure to reveal the undying love of our loving father. He pursues us relentlessly with His undying love.