Tomorrow, I’ll be preaching on what is commonly known as the parable of the prodigal son. With all the rejection and exclusion to be found in the world, it is worth remembering these words from R. Alan Culpepper:
“No other image has come closer to describing the character of God than the waiting father, peering down the road longing for the son’s return, then springing to his feet and running to meet him.” [1]
No matter who you are, where you’re from, or what you’ve done, God loves you still.
[1] R. Alan Culpepper, “Luke: 15:11-32, The Prodigal Son, the Waiting Father, and the Elder Brother,” essay, in The New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. IX (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1995), 298–305, 302.