In the story of the Prodigal Son we see the love of the father when his son returns. Let’s step back earlier in the story to see the love of the father when the son parted. The son’s request for an early inheritance was the equivalent of wishing the father dead. The father loved through that kind of rejection; loved him enough to let him go, not controlling or condemning. It is hard to love when you are being rejected; it is harder to love when you are being insulted. Love loves because that is what love does. God loves us not because of who we are, but because of Who He is; He loves us when our actions don’t deserve love.
Lord, help me to love as my Father loves. Help me to love when that love is hurled back at me in unkind ways. Help me to become such that I love because of who I am in Christ and not for any other reason. Amen.
