Running Dad Forgives

Running Dad Forgives

I’ve done several posts on the Lord’s prayer recently (Matthew 6:9-13). These next few will be on forgiveness. A tough subject.

When we pray the “Our Father” we immerse ourselves in the essential teachings of our Christian faith. God is our Father. We belong to him. He is holy. His kingdom is coming. Jesus, his son, models life in it. Our loving Father invites us to feast daily at his banquet of the bread of life. The essential teaching includes forgiveness, the habit of God. Without forgiveness there is no Christian faith.

God running to forgive is the startling feature of a story Jesus told. Imagine a running dad, rushing toward his child to forgive. “The Return of the Beloved is now at hand,” he cries out. Intentionally, with every stride dad pounds the dust of sin to deliver the pardon and the peace that endures (Luke 15:20). A ready forgiveness, always the right thing to do!

In Jesus’ world (as in the world of my childhood and youth), senior members of the family or the village did not run. So undignified! There’s nothing proper about gathering your tunic to your waist to run. In public, even! No one would visualize that image. Until Jesus! The Forgiver. Our shame bearing Lord!

Imagine you’re invited for a visit at the Vatican. You arrive, the door opens. The pope stands to greet you, dressed only in his bathing suit. You’d have every right to accuse him of being disrespectful toward you. After the shock wears off.

The reality Jesus paints of the dad running is shocking. Remember, the son had already cursed his father with a wish for premature death. Yes, curse words, “Give me my inheritance” translates into “I wish you were dead!” A father cursed, shunned, rejected, abandoned, scorned. No matter! God’s instinct is to always run at any opportunity to forgive. Shocking since this son had brought disgrace on the whole family and town. Forgiveness leaves dignity in the dust when needed.

By telling this running dad story Jesus illustrates divine forgiveness, the essential practice of our faith in Christ in the Lord’s Prayer.

Forgiveness has no part of the current public discourse in America. A decades-long morality is now upon us: “If it feels good, do it”. We put God out of the business of forgiving! Pretend that no sin was committed: “I did not have sex with that woman,” an ex-President declared. A worldview with a God without forgiveness? It’s terrifying.

The new morality: Forgive yourself. Rubbish. You can no more forgive yourself than drive to the moon.

In the new morality, tolerance is the new forgiveness. But the running father didn’t barrel down the dusty road to show his son tolerance. Tolerance is such a poor substitute for forgiveness. Jesus died forgiving. We must live forgiving. And run to forgiveness!