God never gives up on us - Luke 15:20 (11-32) with a story, an observation and a prayer

SCRIPTURE: Luke 15:20 (The Message) – the full story of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11-32
When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.

A STORY:
Two parents were talking about a wayward son of one of them. “Well, if he was my son I would have given up on him long ago.” The other parent responded: “If he was your son I would have given up on him too, but he is my son.”

AN OBSERVATION:
Aren’t you glad that God never gave up hope for you? I am. We are more like the Prodigal Son then we really like to admit. A little rebellious … oh, alright, a LOT rebellious, pigheaded, stubborn, “I don’t need you” mindset, arrogant, proud-full, self-centered, opinionated … have I hit any high points that best describes your general attitude in living this life? Oh, by-the-way, in the spirit that “confession is good for the soul,” painful as it is to admit, this list is my list.

While other people gave up on us a long time ago, God never did. While other important people turned their backs and walked away, God never did. While other significant people stuck it out for a long, long time but eventually said, “Enough is enough,” God never did. While painful events took place in our life, God stood vigil waiting for us to come to some awareness that we really couldn’t make it by ourselves and return … and there he was waiting, watch, eager to welcome us home. God never gave up.

When you are a parent – a loving, caring, concerned parent you simply don’t give up regardless of the situation. God is our creator, he is our parent and he will never give up on us. God believes in us, has great hope for us, has a tremendous plan for us … God is just waiting for us to return.

And the good news in all of this is that God welcomes us home over and over and over and over again – regardless of the number of times that we have rebelled and walked away.

PRAYER:
Thank you God for not giving up on us. Thank you for patiently waiting for us to return. Thank you for never stopping the watchful vigil. Thank you for welcoming us back home, regardless of how many times we have rebelled and walked away from you. Amen.