In my walk with Christ, I have always struggled with feeling like I have to clean myself up before coming to Jesus. I fight this feeling that I need to look as if I have it all together before presenting myself to my Heavenly Father, as if He doesn’t already know just what a mess I really am. Too often I expect God to act the way that people do. The beauty of the gospel is that the King of Kings doesn’t react to our filthy rags the way an earthly king would. The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is a beautiful picture of how Jesus responds to our sinful, crazy messed up selves.
In this story, we meet a man with two sons whose youngest son impatiently demands the share of his inheritance from his father. The man grants his son what he asked for, and immediately the son takes off to another country where he “squanders his property in reckless living” (v.13). After wasting all his inheritance in the midst of a rising famine, the son desperately goes to work as a pig farmer, living in their pens with hardly a scrap to eat. Realizing the despair his selfishness had placed him in, he decides to return to his father and beg for his forgiveness, understanding now that he is not even worthy to be called his father’s son.
As the son makes his way home, bracing himself for the worst, something beautiful happens.
“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20
Can you imagine how filthy the prodigal son must have been after sleeping with the pigs for a while? The smell must have been horrible. And the stench of his sin --his disobedience and selfishness-- was undeniable. Sometimes that’s how I feel coming to Jesus. How could He possibly stand to be near me after I did made that mistake again? Haven’t I used up all His allotted grace by now?
If He responded to my mess the way that I tend to respond to other people’s sins, He would have given up on me a long time ago. And yet, like the father who anxiously awaited his rebellious son’s return, while I am still a long way off, He sees me and feels compassion. He runs and embraces me and kisses me. Pig-smell and all.
But His grace and love doesn’t end there...
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:22-24
Not only does God embrace us in our filth, He rejoices when we return to Him. He holds us while we’re in our dirty rags, but He loves us too much to leave us in them. He clothes us in the blood of Christ and puts the ring of His everlasting love on our fingers. The King of Kings invites us to a feast at HIS table to celebrate our return for His glory. What a reason to be grateful!
Though conviction is primarily placed in our hearts to make us holy and more like Jesus, someone told me once that the purpose of conviction is so that God can show more grace, because “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.” (Romans 8:1)
What a wonderful picture of hospitality that Christ invites us to share in His inheritance, even when we come to Him in self-made mess.
May we remember in this season of celebration and thanksgiving that our Heavenly Father’s generosity in inviting us out of our pig pens to dine at His table is the perfect example of hospitality and the blessing most deserving of our thanks.
Have a happy (and thankful) Thanksgiving!
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