There are lots of examples of people running away from God. And even some of people running to God.
But nowhere else do we read of God running – anywhere – ever.
For the patriach of a family to run for any reason other than to save his own life was highly irregular – it just wasn’t done. Running was unbecoming – one lost all dignity and threw all caution to the wind. He would be laughed at, especially running toward a rebellious son.
The expected behavior of the Father was to present a cold shoulder, look down his nose at his worthless son in disgust, and barely acknowledge his presence. He certainly wouldn’t have been glad to see him – after all his son’s actions brought him incredible shame in the community.
But that’s not the response of a loving God who is seeking for His rebellious children to come home. The Father in the story doesn’t care what others thought of him; he wanted to make sure his son understood how much he was loved and missed. God wants us to know that, too. So He runs when we make the turn, when we recognize we aren’t perfect, and when we finally break and admit we need God and can’t handle life on our own.
That’s what causes God to break into a sprint to welcome us home.
Lee Thrasher
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