Are you living in the bunkhouse? Or are you in the Father’s house? You see, one of my favorite of Jesus’ stories is about the prodigal son. The younger son went to the Father and asked him for his share of the estate. If you think about it, it was a slap in the face. The usual custom was to wait until the parent’s death to receive one’s inheritance. The son was practically telling the father, “I wish you were dead. I just want what you have to give me.”

The Father decided to give the son his inheritance, and the son left town. You know what happened. He squandered it all on “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” as they say. In the end, he ended up broke and feeding pigs. It was pretty low for a young Jewish boy in the 1st century. Jesus said that the young man finally came to his senses and realized his father’s hired hands had it better than he did. So the son finally hatched a plan. He said to himself, “I will set out and go back to my father and say to Him: Father I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men. So he got up and went to his father” (Luke 15:18 – 20).

Look at his mindset. The son felt he had blown it so badly that he could never be truly forgiven. Perhaps the father would let him become a servant, but he would never really be a son again. He felt so unworthy that he thought he could never really go home again. Basically he was asking the father to let him sleep in the bunkhouse with the servants.

Many Christians have a bunkhouse mentality. They feel they have blown it so greatly and that they are forever marked by their mistakes. Some people feel they will never be accepted and truly loved by God. They think they are relegated to God’s bunkhouse forever.

Perhaps you have made a commitment to Jesus, but you feel He is holding you at arms length. You think God doesn’t really want you close. You think God loves everyone else but you. The prodigal son knows exactly how you feel.

I want you to see the Father’s response though: “But while he was still a long way off, his Father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).

Whenever I read this verse, I try to imagine how Jesus’ audience responded. They would have been a bunch of first century Jews who probably had a hard time picturing such an intimate picture of God. And yet Jesus was using this father to describe what His heavenly Father is like. Have you ever imagined such an intimate picture of God – a God who runs to us, throws his arms around us and kisses us. Jesus wanted his listeners to know that God is not a far off, harsh, and distant God.

The Bible says He ran. In that time, older men did not run. But this dad ran to meet his lost son. God may seem slow at times, but he gets in a real hurry when people repent and turn to Him. He is ready to meet us with forgiveness and grace. The Father throws his arms around us and kisses us (literally over and over again).

What is up with the kisses? First it speaks of God’s tenderness towards us when we turn to him. It communicates his great love for us as well. Last of all, it speaks of his joy. The father is so thrilled when we turn back to Him that Jesus used the image of a father lavishing his son with kisses over and over again. No longer is this son stuck in the bunkhouse. How about you? And that’s the Word.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 and is filed under What's the Word?.