In God's Eyes, We Are All Lovable Beyond Our Behavior
God's love is completely unconditional; meaning God's love for us looks beyond our behavior. Think about it. No where is this more true than in the parable of the Prodigal Son. The father loves the son despite his behavior. There is nothing the son can do to lose his father's love. And this is shocking to us because at no point in this parable is the prodigal's behavior "good" or acceptable according to our human egos.
First, the prodigal son asks his father for his inheritance. We all know that no son or daughter receives an inheritance from a parent until the parent has died. But this son isn't willing to wait for his father's death. He wants his money and he wants it now. That must have been devastating to his father, who had to face the fact that his son valued money more than he valued the life of his own father. The father's love is so great for his son, however, that he is willing to give the young man the money he has requested.
Second, after the prodigal son squanders all of his inheritance, he finds himself destitute, but the only sorrow he feels is for himself. He's not in the least bit concerned about how he has hurt his father. The prodigal's only concern is centered on his stomach. He's hungry and he has to figure out a way to get a roof over his head and some food into his belly. And it doesn't take long for him to come up with a fool-proof plan. He's very sly. All he has to do, he thinks to himself, is return to his father with the story that he isn't good enough to be considered his son anymore, but that he is good enough to be one of his father's hired hands. That, he decides, is a sure way to get back into the pink, at least in terms of having food and shelter. The only remorse he may have had at this moment was that he hadn't thought up this clever scheme sooner.
So the prodigal returns home with a sure-fire trick up his sleeve; a trick, it turns out, that he never needed. The love of the father for his son is greater than the father's ego, greater than his pride, and greater than his need for retribution. His love is so great that he feels no resentment when he sees the prodigal off at a distance, returning home. The father's concern is not focused on the son's bad behavior, but on the fact that the son is alive and well; that he was dead and has come back to life. This is REAL LOVE. It sees beyond human behavior and sees right through to the Christ living inside of everyone. Behavior is a mask. Real love sees beyond the mask. Real love sees into the heart and soul of everyone it graces; and in each and every heart and soul, it sees the undeniable image and likeness of God that each person is.
This is why the Bible tells us that God's ways are not our ways. God's ways are about love and acceptance, our ways are about ego and revenge. Face it. If we love people based solely on their behavior, then in reality we love no one. Because no one's behavior can be perfect to our liking all of the time. People will always fail us and we will always fail others in one way or another. It's the human condition, but it's not an excuse for loving poorly. We are called to love as God does, or at least to try. So the next time someone disappoints you, or hurts you, try to look beyond their behavior. Take time to grieve your hurt or sense of loss and then be compassionate and empathetic, merciful and forgiving. Look deeper. Find the Spirit of God alive within the soul of your prodigal, because no amount of bad behavior can have lasting power over that Spirit which is Real Love. In doing so, you will allow your soul to shine, and you yourself will shine just like the Prodigal Father!
First, the prodigal son asks his father for his inheritance. We all know that no son or daughter receives an inheritance from a parent until the parent has died. But this son isn't willing to wait for his father's death. He wants his money and he wants it now. That must have been devastating to his father, who had to face the fact that his son valued money more than he valued the life of his own father. The father's love is so great for his son, however, that he is willing to give the young man the money he has requested.
Second, after the prodigal son squanders all of his inheritance, he finds himself destitute, but the only sorrow he feels is for himself. He's not in the least bit concerned about how he has hurt his father. The prodigal's only concern is centered on his stomach. He's hungry and he has to figure out a way to get a roof over his head and some food into his belly. And it doesn't take long for him to come up with a fool-proof plan. He's very sly. All he has to do, he thinks to himself, is return to his father with the story that he isn't good enough to be considered his son anymore, but that he is good enough to be one of his father's hired hands. That, he decides, is a sure way to get back into the pink, at least in terms of having food and shelter. The only remorse he may have had at this moment was that he hadn't thought up this clever scheme sooner.
So the prodigal returns home with a sure-fire trick up his sleeve; a trick, it turns out, that he never needed. The love of the father for his son is greater than the father's ego, greater than his pride, and greater than his need for retribution. His love is so great that he feels no resentment when he sees the prodigal off at a distance, returning home. The father's concern is not focused on the son's bad behavior, but on the fact that the son is alive and well; that he was dead and has come back to life. This is REAL LOVE. It sees beyond human behavior and sees right through to the Christ living inside of everyone. Behavior is a mask. Real love sees beyond the mask. Real love sees into the heart and soul of everyone it graces; and in each and every heart and soul, it sees the undeniable image and likeness of God that each person is.
This is why the Bible tells us that God's ways are not our ways. God's ways are about love and acceptance, our ways are about ego and revenge. Face it. If we love people based solely on their behavior, then in reality we love no one. Because no one's behavior can be perfect to our liking all of the time. People will always fail us and we will always fail others in one way or another. It's the human condition, but it's not an excuse for loving poorly. We are called to love as God does, or at least to try. So the next time someone disappoints you, or hurts you, try to look beyond their behavior. Take time to grieve your hurt or sense of loss and then be compassionate and empathetic, merciful and forgiving. Look deeper. Find the Spirit of God alive within the soul of your prodigal, because no amount of bad behavior can have lasting power over that Spirit which is Real Love. In doing so, you will allow your soul to shine, and you yourself will shine just like the Prodigal Father!
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