"For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." Luke 15:24 NIV
Luke records in chapter 15 Jesus’ description of heaven as a celebrating place. Three times Jesus tells stories about something lost being found – a sheep, a coin, and finally a son. Every time it happens, joy, rejoicing, and celebration are the immediate results.
When the prodigal son returns home, he is dirty and without a single resource or friend. He had spent an incredible fortune, the inheritance he was to have received when his father died. But the father does not greet him with a lecture, a probationary period, or contract of conditions. He doesn’t mention the past at all. The father runs to his son and embraces him, dirt, tangled hair, and the smell of the pigpen still on him. He restores him, and then says, “Let’s eat and celebrate! Let’s have a party! My son is home!”
One of the most profoundly moving and challenging thoughts in this story is that the father celebrates before the son has a chance to prove anything. It comes without a track record of change. The returned runaway comes with a prepared speech about just becoming his father’s servant, but the father interrupts him with grace. The celebration is not based on a performance review but on his return. The father rejoices because relationship has been restored. He explains the reason: "For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found" (Luke 15:24). The focus is not on where his son has been but on where he is now. Love rejoices when a child comes home. Love rejoices in restoration.
This is God's heart for every child who comes home. God is not merely willing to forgive and receive us. His heart overflows with joy when someone turns toward Him and repents. This is not only the good news of God’s mercy, love, and grace toward all of us, it is challenging for those of us who are already at home in the Father’s house. Do we celebrate what God celebrates? Are we glad when a lost one returns? When a struggler tries again? Do we overflow with grace when someone fails? Or do we judge and want to see proof before we can believe it? The elder brother would not share his father's joy. He wouldn’t join the party. God invites us not only to witness the celebration but to join it.
- The depth of the father's love is not seen in the party; it is revealed in the fact that he never stopped looking down the road. The celebration simply reveals what was already in his heart. The elder brother’s refusal showed what was in his. How about MY heart? Is there someone in my life I need to celebrate rather than judge? Am I sharing the Father's joy over what He is doing in the lives of others? God, teach me to celebrate what You celebrate.