So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
– Luke 15:20-24
The Good News about the Kingdom is that there is no distance, no gap preventing us from entering the Kingdom but our own rebellious hearts. And the barrier of our hearts can be crumbled when we let Christ become master of it. Illness, heartache, confusion can evaporate like the mist before the morning sun. Christ came to reconcile us to God and to bring us home to the Kingdom of Heaven.
This reconciliation is deceptively simple and requires little more than our hunger and thirst for it. It requires little more than a yes. “Yes, I want to be united with my eternal Father. Yes, I am confused and lonely. Yes, I am tired of walking a relentless and dreary path. Yes, I am tired and weary and I want to come home.”
To those of us who have surrendered our hearts, even walking through this burdensome life can be done in joy. Joy in knowing that we are reconciled to God and welcomed into His presence, welcomed into His peace, welcomed into a participation of life that is earthly but also woven with glimmers of His presence. Like the beauty in the colors of a sunset which is faded by the dimness of our worldly eyes, there is awe in the knowledge that even our sorrow has been orchestrated for His great purpose. There is peace even in the face of tragedy. There is a sense of His ongoing love in all things that spurs us on.
To those of us who have not surrendered our hearts there remains a hunger, a longing, a desire. A desire to be part of something greater, something undefined. A longing to find that which was lost. A sense of urgency to belong to something, somewhere, like an orphaned child looking for a family or a lost sheep looking for its flock. You are looking for your Father. You are looking for your identity, you are looking for your home. You are looking to be loved.
God is the love that you are seeking. He never wanted you to leave your home. He never wanted you to give up your family and your birthright. He always loved you, not despite your mistakes, but in and through them. Your mistakes built your character and they built you. They built the very you that He rejoices over. The wall you have built from the rubble of your mistakes can be toppled and nothing you have ever done can ever make Him love you less.
The Good News of the Kingdom is that we have a High Priest, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself so that we all can be reconciled to our holy and wonderful Lord of Lords; our God, who sees us, knows us, and understands us. Not some absent God who sits remotely on a tuft of cloud, absent of compassion and devoid of interest, but a just and perfect, holy and wise, beautiful and unchanging, a loving and powerful God, who is intimately involved in and enamored with you. A God who made you in His image. A God who longs for you the way you long for that unnamed “something” that is Him.
He awaits your return. He sent His only Son to make it possible for you to come back to Him. His Son, Jesus Christ, came and preached the Good News that you can be reconciled to God. Christ took your sins on Himself so that you can come back to God. God is waiting for you. You don’t have to clean yourself up. He will take you as you are and put a new robe on your back and a ring on your finger. He will hold a feast and already has a room waiting for you. He waits eagerly for your return and will rejoice when you merely ask to come home. The Good News is that Christ prepared the way. To receive His love and forgiveness, all you have to do is humble yourself and ask to come home. He Himself will open the door wide and welcome you back inside.
Written by Janet Keefe
