Bread shortages and a God whose compassion never runs out

Just this week I went to an eatery whose specialty is bagels. They were out of everything except one kind. Three days later, I went to a sub sandwich shop, and they were out of bread — except one kind. It was a rough week for bread. Inventory shortages and supply chain snafus are still out there.

But do you know what is never in short supply? The compassion of God.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

There is no better example of God’s lavish compassion than Luke’s account of the prodigal son. We’ve all heard the story many times, but there are details about the father’s compassion that shouldn’t be overlooked. When the wayward son finally came to his senses and came home, he was met by his father before he ever got to the house. Scripture says the father ran to meet him. It’s the only time mentioned in Scripture that God ran. And who did he run after? His wayward son returning home.

That shows the heart of our heavenly Father.

In the two parables before this one, Jesus told the story of the man who lost one sheep and the woman who lost one coin. Both dropped everything and went looking for their treasure. Jesus’ point is clear: Our heavenly Father goes after the wayward. It’s in his DNA. It’s what he does.

All this running to meet a sinner and the over-the-top compassion didn’t sit too well with the older son. After all, he stayed home and dutifully did all that was expected of him. He is a perfect example of stodgy, formal religion.

When he complained that he had slaved for years and got no reward, his father told him, “Son, all I have is yours.” The problem is that the oldest son had no intimate relationship with his father. He referred to himself as a slave. Had he known the heart of his father, it would have been easy to celebrate his younger brother’s homecoming.

When a person doesn’t understand the forgiveness and compassion that God extends to them, they won’t have the capacity to extend compassion and forgiveness to others. Sadly, every Sunday morning there are churches with people who are slavish to obey God outwardly but inwardly are estranged from intimacy with him.

God is eager to forgive and restore sinners. He runs to meet them despite their past. The prophet Micah said it well: “He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

Ken Staley is pastor of Faith Church of Pleasant Grove, 9:30 a.m., and Harrisville Methodist Church, 11 a.m. Both are Global Methodist congregations. Text Ken at 918-852-9797.