A Resurrection-Shaped Voice: The Running God
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Luke 15:20
20 …But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion;
he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.
Luke 15:20 is one of the most tender pictures of God in the whole Bible. A son has wandered far. He has made a mess of his life. He smells like failure and feels like a fool. He’s not walking home with a proud chest. He’s rehearsing a speech. “I’m not worthy… just let me be a servant.” He expects a scolding. A cold stare. Maybe a closed door.
But Jesus tells it differently.
“While he was still far off, his father saw him…”
That means the father was watching. Not once. Not casually. Watching like a person who keeps looking down the road, day after day, hoping for a dot on the horizon.
And when the father sees him, he doesn’t stand on the porch with crossed arms. He doesn’t demand explanations. He doesn’t say, “Walk the whole way and think about what you did.”
He runs.
In that culture, grown men didn’t run. Running meant lifting your robe. It looked foolish. It cost dignity. But love doesn’t mind looking foolish if it can reach someone it misses.
The father runs to the son—before the apology is finished, before the shower, before the son can prove anything. Then comes the hug. The kiss. The arms around a boy who still has mud on his shoes and regret in his throat.
That’s what God is like.
Some of us think we “have to” crawl back. We think God’s love is earned like a paycheck. We think we “have to” get our act together before we pray again. But Luke 15:20 says God moves first. God runs first. God loves first.
If you feel far off today—tired, ashamed, stuck—take one step toward home. You may think you’re coming to face a lecture. But you’re coming to meet a Father already running down the road. And His arms are already open. Have a great day!
-Martin's Lutheran Church
