Day 36

The irony is overwhelming. The God of the new covenant reminding me that He loves me and wants me.

For each son the Father goes out of his way. For the prodigal, the Father is found anticipating his son’s arrival -an arrival we, the reader, view as a slim chance. The Father should be focused on more important things. He should be rebuilding the estate, creating bigger, better business to restore things to pre-divided inheritance status. Instead, the Father sees his son in the distance and runs to meet him.

For the older brother the Father takes a break from the party he is hosting. It would have been noticeable that the Father stepped away from the celebration and out into the dark night.

And the Father pleads with the older son, “Don’t you see? All this is yours.” (As they look around the plantation.) The Father indicates that with the older brother is always celebration. Every moments is testimony to the faithfulness of the older brother, a faithful response of the older brother to the generosity of the loving, giving Father.

When God pleads it’s as if he has to convince me of the elementary truths of what I already know. When God pleads it’s because my faith is weak.

God pleads with me in the wonder of creation. He pleads with me in the bond of close relationships with my spouse, my boys and friends. He pleads with me in those moments when I rediscover His grace. He pleads with me through faithful blessing in the midst of hurt and pain, often the result of my own sin. God pleads with me in the daily provision of life.

May you hear the pleading of God today. May you know that celebration for you continues in the heart of the Father. For you are found.


Nathan Tillotson