Today's Devotional

June 16, 2003

Subject:  The Dad Who Sees You Coming

Luke 15:20 - "And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."

Abba is a Jewish term that literally means, "daddy."  God is our Father, but in a more intimate way than just being, "The Father."  Daddy carries the sense that He's there with love and compassion without regard to whether or not we are always acting like His children.  He is the Father who loves us when we are far away from Him as well as when we are near to Him.  

The father in the prodigal son story illustrates this perfectly.  If you remember the details of the story, the son went to a "distant" country.  While the son was away, the father's love never changed for his son.  Although his son did many terrible things against the father, upon the son's return and while he was "yet a great way off," as the verse above says, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

Today, you might not be all that you want to be for God.  You might not be doing all that you want to do for God.  You might be a "great way off" and on your way back to Him.  Know that He sees you coming and the unconditionally loving Father is not only waiting with open arms, but He sees you coming and He's running to you as well.  What a fabulous Father.

Carlen