You probably know what today is—Father’s Day!

So first off, happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there!

In the Bible there are many verses about God being a father—2 Corinthians 6:18:
‘And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:18 NIV)

God is our father. He will always be our father, even when we run away, even when we hate him, even when we tell him that we don’t love him and we want him to leave us alone.

In the book of Luke, Jesus tells the story of a man who had two sons. He gave both of them their inheritances and while the elder son stayed and worked for his father, the younger son ran out into the world, left his father, and spent all his money. But then there was a famine and so the son finally ‘came to his senses’ (Luke 15:17 NIV). That’s when he returned to his father in the hopes that he would be hired and given food. He planned his whole speech and as he was walking to his house, his father saw him.

Instead of waiting for his disobedient, wasteful, ignorant son to come begging at his feet, the father ran down to the son instead, throwing his arms around him and kissing his son. Then, he celebrates his son’s return.

The elder son—who had stayed and worked for the father—was angry and said, “Why is he celebrated for begging when I’ve slaved for years and you’ve never given me the chance to celebrate with my friends!”

And the father, he responds with this: “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” (Luke 15:31-32 NIV)

This is a beautiful representation of God: he is waiting for us to return to him. We might practice a speech, ready to beg at his feet, preparing to slave for him for years in return for his affections. But God, he’s not going to accept that stuff. He’s going to wave it away and say, “Welcome home, child.”

This is the same with my dad—he will welcome me and my brothers, even after we’ve screwed up like heck. My father strives to live like Jesus, be a father like God, and to welcome us like the father of the prodigal son.

So in conclusion? God isn’t going to hate you if you mess up. Will there be consequences? Probably. But will you be cast out forever? Heck no! You will be welcomed with a party, each and every time you come back to God.

Happy Father’s Day and happy Sunday! I hope this encouraged you.

Don’t forget to tell the father-figure in your life how much they matter to you. 😉

What are you doing with your father or father-figure this Sunday? Any fun plans? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

~Willow 🧡

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Luke 15:10 NIV