Sitting with friends over lunch, artist Charlie Mackesy noticed one of them, a father, hugging his son in a gesture of pure forgiveness. It was such a tender embrace, full of redemption and acceptance, that Charlie saw in it the bigger picture of God the Father’s forgiveness of us. Deeply moved, he asked father and son to repeat the movement, and from that observation, he created his now-famous paintings and bronze sculptures entitled “The Prodigal Son”. Wanting to connect the visual with the Bible story, he included the following as part of the etched border: “This is the story of the Prodigal Son. It should really be called the running father . . .”
Abundant, reconciling love pours out of the painting. We’re told, “But even while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him” (Luke 15:20). In Jesus’ time, this was utterly counter-cultural. The father surely would have stood at the gates, stately, dignified, waiting for an apology. Instead, he runs to the son who betrayed him, embracing his child. The father’s love for his son—God’s love for us—is total and unconditional.
Whenever we are feeling distant from God, or guilty for what we have done, we need to return to this image. As Charlie himself said, “If we can . . . for five seconds a day . . . dare to believe that we are loved that much by God, everything changes.”
By Tanya Marlow
REFLECT & PRAY
If you are able to, look up Charlie Mackesy’s painting. To what extent does it help bring the parable to life? How does knowing God’s abundant love for you help you this week?
Loving Father, thank You that even when I fail, You embrace me in Your love.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The word compassion in Luke 15:20 comes from the Greek verb splanchnízomai. The noun form of this word refers to “bowels or intestines.” Generally speaking, it refers to the internal organs, such as the heart, lungs, and liver. It’s the word used in Acts 1:18 to speak of Judas’ demise: “all his intestines spilled out.”
While ancient Greek poets saw the “bowels” as the seat of more violent emotions, the Hebrews saw them as the place for affections such as kindness and compassion. When the verb is used in the New Testament, it refers to internal feelings of pity that result in external acts of benevolence. In the Gospels, the compassion of Jesus compelled Him to heal the sick (Matthew 14:14) and feed the multitude (15:32). In Luke 15:20, compassion motivated the father to welcome his son: “[He] was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
Arthur Jackson
Our mission is to make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all.
