In the parable of the prodigal son, what did the father do when he saw his son returning home?

The Answer

While the wayward son was still a long way off, his father saw him, was filled with compassion, and ran to embrace and kiss him. The son had rehearsed a speech asking to be treated as a hired servant, but the father interrupted with a robe, a ring, sandals, and a feast. In that culture, a dignified patriarch running was scandalous — which is exactly the point Jesus was making about God's extravagant love.

The father saw his son while he was still a long way off — which means the father was watching. Day after day, scanning the horizon, hoping. That is the picture Jesus paints of God: not a reluctant judge waiting to be appeased, but a Father straining His eyes toward the road home.

The son came back with a rehearsed speech about his unworthiness. He never got to finish it. Grace interrupted him mid-sentence.

Maybe you have been away — from God, from faith, from hope — and you have been rehearsing your own speech of unworthiness. You can put it away. The road home is shorter than you think, and Someone is already running toward you.