The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
“Running, Racing, Speeding”
Olympic champion Usain Bolt is believed to have run faster than any other human being.
Except perhaps for this fellow:
“And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him” (Luke 15:20; emphasis added).
The race of grace - and of mercy, joy, exhilaration, and the hurry of a father to bestow pardon and restoration on a returning and repentant son. Few scenes of Scripture more capture the imagination and wonder of those who read the narrative, knowing who it depicts in both the Benefator of mercy and its recipients.
“For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon Thee” (Psalm 86:5).
“He delighteth in mercy” (Micah 7:18).
“But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Galatians 3:22).
We do well to see our Heavenly Father running to forgive and cleanse us when we repent and confess our sins. We also do well to see His beloved Son hanging on a cross to make possible our Father’s earnest desire to pardon sin, while remaining true to His righteous integrity: “just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). Indeed, every forgiven sin throughout human history proceeded from the cross, either in its mercy through the Christ to come, or its full pardon through the Christ who came. He existed in the Father’s heart as “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” because His foreknowledge of our sins was mercifully accompanied by the foreordination of His forgiveness offered to all who would receive it through Christ (Revelation 13:8). Little wonder our Father chose another father to so beautifully reflect His heart so eager and in such a rush to redeem.
“But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:22-24).
The father of the prodigal would leave Usain in the dust if another son required mercy. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus shines forth in this, one of the most well-known and beloved depictions of His love found in the Bible. How appropriate, based on how much our Father loves to forgive, and how rapidly He restores as we come by the way He made for us. Yes, Feet stilled by nails on the cross of Calvary make possible Feet running, racing, and speeding toward repentant sinners and returning saints who approach our Lord’s throne of grace by the only way possible. And the only way we require…
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
(I John 1:9)
(Romans 5:1-2)
“To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses.”
(Daniel 9:9)
Weekly Memory Verse
We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
(II Corinthians 4:7)
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