Is God’s love real?  How can it be?  Is He truly able to celebrate?  This morning as I considered the story of the prodigal son, I began to ask myself these questions.  We would all agree that we believe in a sovereign God who knows the end from the beginning.  If God knew when and that a sinner would repent how could He celebrate that?  How could God get excited about something He already knew would happen-and not just that it would happen but all the details surrounding it?  How is He able to really love when He is the one who brought the circumstances about that lead to the sinner’s repentance?

I began to imagine it like this.  Suppose I had a son who had justly been imprisoned in a distant land for a debt he could not hope to pay.  I love my son, and desperately want him freed and restored to me.  So, at a great cost to me, I pay his debts and arrange his release from prison and return home.  I book him the first flight home.  I order a cab that will take him to the airport.  I buy him some new clothes and arrange for him to get a warm bath and good meal.  The day of his return is here.  The flight is not delayed and he will arrive precisely when he was scheduled.

Now, at this point someone could say, “You know everything of his arrival.  Indeed you planned the entire thing out!  You made all the arrangements for the return of your son into your loving care.  How could you, then, be excited upon his arrival when you have expected it all along?”  He is my son, and I would give up my life to see him again.

What powerful love the Father shows us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us, securing our way home and back into our Father’s loving arms.  He eagerly awaits for those whom He’s called to return home to him.  He anxiously awaits the arrival of His children.  He worked it all out.  He saved us.  He made the path to salvation and led us down it.  He knew all along how and when it would happen.  And he couldn’t be happier when the day comes.

What a wonderfully loving Father God we serve who loves beyond comprehension!  Rejoice in His love!  Can imagination hope to lend insight into how wonderful the day will be when we see our Father God face to face for the first time?  I think not.  Still, I’ll revel in the thought!