Stubborn Love

Jesus…summarized God’s stubborn love with a parable. He told about a teenager who decided that life on the farm was too slow for his tastes. So with pockets full of inheritance money, he set out to find the big time. What he found instead were hangovers, fair-weather friends, and long unemployment lines. When he had had just about as much of the pig’s life he could take, he swallowed his pride, dug his hands deep into his empty pockets, and began the long walk home; all the while rehearsing a speech that he planned to give his father.

He never used it. Just when he got to the top of the hill, his father, who’d been waiting at the gate, saw him. The boy’s words of apology were quickly muffled by the father’s words of forgiveness…

If you ever wonder how God can use you to make a difference in your world, …look at the forgiveness found in those open arms and take courage.