His Last Command: Our First PrioritySample

Day 7: The Father’s Heart

Luke 15:1 NASB

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.

Luke 15 begins with a statement full of meaning. When have notorious sinners ever been drawn to a rabbi, eager to listen to him? When have people like them not been pushed away by religious leaders?

The Scribes and Pharisees disapproved of these types of people and raised accusations against Jesus, meant to discredit him, such as, “He receives sinners and even eats with them!”

In response to their criticism, Jesus told a story. In fact, he shared three stories, each about something lost and then found because someone cared enough to look for it. Through these stories, he shared heaven’s view of lost sinners.

The lost sheep - Luke 15:3-7

The lost coin - Luke 15:8-10

The lost son - Luke 15:11-32

In this third and longest story, Jesus told of two sons - the older, seemingly faithful son and the younger prodigal, the wasteful son who had the audacity to ask his father for his share of the estate, while the man was still alive! All of the elements of this story carried significant meaning for the first listeners, as the events described were culturally inappropriate and shameful. Jesus captured their attention!

Despite the younger son’s reckless sins, his father’s love never faded, and he yearned for him to return. Day after day, the father watched the horizon, hoping for his son's return. The moment he spotted his child, ragged and broken, compassion swept over him. He raced forward, embraced his son tightly, and showered him with kisses.

The younger son had caused his father tremendous grief. Sadly, the older, stay-at-home son did as well, but for different reasons. Jesus described the older son's resentment and self-righteous comparison of his loyalty versus his brother’s failures. Jesus aimed the story directly at the Pharisees and their lack of compassion for lost sinners.

The elder son had access to all the father’s provisions but lacked the father’s vision.

Do we see what the Father sees? As his sons and daughters, do we see what really matters, what’s close and dear to His heart?

Do you and I have the Father’s eyes?

Helen Keller, who in infancy became deaf and blind, is quoted as saying, “What is the greatest calamity? To have eyes and not see.”

Mark 8:18 NKJV

Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?

Sadly, it is possible to be a part of the Father’s household and not see what he sees.

So, what does He want us to see?

People - the fields white unto harvest. He wants us to focus our sights on those outside of the Father’s house. The Father’s eyes look not only for those who are near but also for those who are far off.

“When the Spirit of God comes into a man, He gives him a worldwide view.” - Oswald Chambers.

What we learn about the Father from Jesus’ story.

1. The Father has eyes of mercy.

What He sees moves Him with mercy and pity and kindness. When He looks at the least, the last and the lost, He loves them and longs for them.

2. The Father has a heart of mercy.

There was a yearning in him. This boy had brought all his sorrow on himself. But all the father could do was to reach out to him with a tender, forgiving, merciful heart. We don’t see this stirring in the elder brother. He had the father’s house but not his heart.

3. The Father has feet of mercy.

The father saw him, and he ran towards him. There is urgency in the Father. Time is critical to those outside of God’s house. There was no sense of this urgency in the elder brother. He had the father’s fortune, but he did not have the father’s feet.

4. The Father has arms of mercy.

His arms stretched out to embrace him: He fell on his son’s neck. Though the son is guilty and filthy and reeking with the stench from feeding swine, the father takes him in his arms and lays him in his bosom. The elder brother had the father’s estate, but he did not have the father’s estimate of a lost life.

5. The Father has lips of mercy.

The father’s lips do not mention his foolishness against him; not one word is said by way of condemnation. The father’s lips kiss him and pardon, welcome him and absolve him. The elder brother has the father’s lands that flow with milk and honey, but not the father’s lips that flow with grace and mercy.

According to John 3:16, the Father’s priority is that none should perish. What is your priority today? What is your attitude toward those outside the Father’s house? Some of us live in “church world” for so long that we have little contact with unbelievers and avoid their company.

What if the elder brother had become a partner with the father? What if he had been looking with his father and saw his brother a long way off? What would it have meant to the father to know that his son not only had his possessions, but also his purposes?

Prodigal living - living outside of the Father’s house

Purposeless living - living inside the Father’s house but outside of His vision.

Priority living - living inside the Father’s house and for the Father’s vision. Where the Father’s provision is utilised for Father’s vision.

This is what we are called to.

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Prayer

Lord, I pray that I will have Your eyes to see what You see, Your heart to love who You love, your feet to run towards those in need of the Saviour, your arms to embrace and love as You love, and your lips to speak grace and truth. I pray that each day I become more like You.