The Love of God the Father (June 2023 Update)
A father’s love is absolutely essential for raising children. While single mothers can and do compensate when a father is not at home, nothing gives more stability to a household than having a loving father around. In fact, recent studies have shown that we cannot underestimate the importance of a father in the home. For example, 80% of those in prison grew up in homes where a father was not present. And 71% of all High School dropouts and 90% of homeless and runaway children had absentee fathers.
Mothers provide the nurture and care that children need. Fathers provide the stability that they need. In fact, children look to their fathers to lay down the rules and enforce them. While children look to their mothers for love and affection, they look to their fathers for strength and stability. And when these characteristics come from a loving father, children have the strength and love they need to navigate life.
What does the Bible say about God as our Father? The Old Testament says surprisingly little. Though the Old Testament clearly calls God “Father” a few times (for example, Isa. 63:16; 64:8; Jer. 3:19; Mal. 2:10), the writers of the Old Testament lay greater emphasis on our distance from God and the reverence we should feel for Him. God is revealed more as separate from us and beyond us, and He is seen less as intimate and close to us. The Old Testament view of God is a true and important reminder that God is holy and deserves our worship.
But when we come to the New Testament, the reverse is true. The New Testament refers to God as Father more than any other term. Jesus used the term “Father” more than any other term whenever he spoke about God. God is described as our Father to show that He is personally, emotionally, and even sacrificially involved with us. In fact, Jesus even used the term “Abba” or “Daddy” to refer to God. This especially offended the Pharisees. And when he was teaching on prayer in Matthew 7:11, Jesus said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” In other words, while fathers are not perfect and some are not even good, God as our Father always gives His children what is best for them.
Here in Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables of salvation. In verses 3-7, he tells the parable of the lost sheep. Then in verses 8-10, he tells the parable of the lost coin. Finally, in verse 11-32, he tells the parable of the prodigal son. The third parable is probably the best known of all the parables. In fact, even most non-religious people can retell this parable.
But these parables teach us much about the amazing love of God the Father. And in the parable of the prodigal son, we can see at least 3 things about God’s fatherly love.
1. The Love of God the Father is FREE (vv. 11-16). This section sets the stage for demonstrating the love of God the Father. Jesus introduces us to a family with 2 sons. And the youngest son brazenly approaches his father and requests his full inheritance now. “Give me my share of the inheritance” he demands. So, the father divides the inheritance and gives the younger son his portion.
In making this request, the son is completely disrespecting his father. Since inheritances were normally given only when the father died, it’s as if the son had said, “I wish you were dead.” He valued his father’s money more than he did his relationship with his father. He wanted to get his inheritance and get out of his father’s house so he could live like he wanted. And his father allowed it!
Now, when I say that the Father’s love is FREE, I do not mean it is without cost. In fact, when the father gives the younger son his portion, the father loses that amount for his own “living.” “So, he divided to them his livelihood.” Instead, I am referring to the theological or philosophical concept of freedom. Unlike us, God is completely free. He does not depend on us or need us or need anything. In Psalm 50:10-12, God says, “I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.” This is sometimes called God’s self-sufficiency. He alone is truly “free.
Also, God’s freedom means that He cannot be forced into doing anything. In that sense, anything and everything God does is “free.” He is not obligated to give us anything. In other words, whatever He does, He does out of His freedom. No one makes Him do it.
That’s what we see here in this parable. This father is not required to give the younger son anything. He could freely say, “That’s not the way inheritance works. If you want your inheritance, you will have to wait for it.” But this father divided the inheritance “freely” – no one forced him to do it. Why did he do it? He did it out of his love for his son. Since He was not required to do so, His love was “free” in the sense that no one made him do it.
God the Father’s love for us is also free. Whatever He does or allows in our lives comes out of His free and loving choices for us. Notice also that the father in the parable, out of his own free choice, gives the son the inheritance even knowing that he will probably abuse it and waste it. But he does it out of his love. In the same way, God often allows us to make wrong and even sinful choices for our lives. He often does this knowing that the consequences of our bad choices will result in us “coming to our senses” just as it eventually did for the prodigal son. The love of God the Father is always “free.” He is never obligated to love us – He chooses to love us because the love of God the Father is free.
2. The Love of God the Father is ACTIVE (vv. 20-21). As expected, the son goes off to a far country and wastes all his inheritance. There he finally “comes to his senses” and realizes that it would be better to be a slave in his father’s house than to continue with his rebellious lifestyle.
And what does he remember about his father? He remembers that his father paid his servants more than enough. He says that even the hired men had “bread enough and to spare!” He remembered that his father was very generous. He always gave the servants more than they needed. Because his father’s love was an active love. His father was not a man who just talked a good talk – he backed it up with action. He didn’t just say he cared for his servants; he showed it by his actions.
In these verses, we see that the father does the same thing for his own son. Look at verse 20: “when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” Most believe that this verse implies that the father was continually watching for the return of his son. He was daily looking and watching and waiting for his son to return.
And he also ran and embraced his son. In ancient societies, it was considered undignified for an older man to pull up his robes to run. Yet that is exactly what his father did. And when he reached him, he fell on him and embraced him with kisses. This father’s love was not passive – it was active.
Jesus has been saying this about the Father’s love in all three parables. In the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd actively seeks out the one sheep that has wandered away. In the parable of the lost coin, the woman actively turns her house upside down until she finds the one lost coin. And in the parable of the prodigal son, the father is actively waiting and then actively running to receive his son back. The love of God the Father is not a passive love – it is an active love. God didn’t just say He loved us – He sent His son to die for us! That’s an active love.
3. The Love of God the Father is LAVISH (vv. 22-24). When the son makes his statement of repentance (“Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.”), the father responds by telling his servants, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” Each of these are significant. Robes were reserved only for honored guests. The ring was probably a signet ring indicating the authority of the father. In other words, he was given permission to act in the name of his father on all business deals. And servants did not usually wear sandals – only family members did. Finally, the fatted calf was an animal that was “fattened up” for some special event. The father didn’t just receive his son back – he lavished his love upon him!
And he didn’t just give him all these special items. He called everyone together and they celebrated. “They began to make merry.” They had a great celebration. It was such a great celebration that the older son, working in the field, heard the music when he came near the house. The father’s love was free, active, and most of all, it was lavish.
This point is clear in all three parables. God’s love is lavish. The shepherd who finds his lost sheep, calls his friends and has a celebration (vs. 5-6). What shepherd would do that? But Jesus is illustrating the lavish love of God. The woman who finds her lost coin calls her friends and neighbors together and celebrates the discovery of the lost coin. No one would do that. But Jesus is telling the Pharisees about the lavish love of God. He does more than we would ever think. He lavishes His love upon us!
At the end of these parables, Jesus concludes by telling the Pharisees “So there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” God’s love toward repentant sinners is lavish. He does not just forgive all who come – He restores us fully. He makes us His children. And He and all of heaven rejoice when even one sinner comes to repentance.
But there is more. When the older son hears the music and sees the dancing and hears that his father has killed the fatted calf, he is angry. His father explains to him: “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours” (vs 31). The older son had forgotten about the lavish love of the father – even for him. In His lavish love, our Father doesn’t just save us. He makes us joint heirs with Christ Jesus. We don’t just get the robe and the ring and the fatted calf – all that the Father has is ours!
That’s the love of God the Father that we see in the parable of the prodigal son. His love is free – God gives His love, not because He has to but because He wants to. God’s love is active – He doesn’t just say He loves us – He actively shows it. And God’s love is lavish – He always gives us, “exceedingly, abundantly, beyond all we could ask or think” (Ephesians 3:21).
Teaching Ministry …
May (and June) has been a very busy month for teaching. Our class on Research and Writing at Kyiv Theological Seminary started in May and will continue throughout June. We are doing an online version that we started offering last summer due to the war. Natalie Tereschenko and I are teaching the class and we are working to help students improve their communication skills. Because of the nature of the class, there are a lot of assignments and papers to grade. But we are enjoying working with the students and seeing their progress. Pray for us as we continue to teach this class.
Also, this May, KTS graduated another class in spite of the war. What a joy to see so many of my students graduate! This was the 20th class to graduate from KTS since it opened in 1996 (the first graduations were only every 4 years). We only wish we could be there in person to celebrate this accomplishment with them.
I continue to have opportunities to preach here in the states. Last month, I preached at Grace Baptist Church in Scott, AR. We have many dear friends there and it was a great joy to see them all again. Also, I am enjoying preaching at the nursing home in Fayetteville. I am loving this special ministry to a group of about 10 elderly residents. It is such a joy to be able to preach the Word, especially to a group of dear people that usually do not have this opportunity. Right now, I’m driving 45 minutes to an hour one way to be at an 8:15 service for them so I can get back in time for our church services. I’m looking forward to moving back into Fayetteville, so I won’t have to drive so far.
Thank you for your prayers and support for us. As I mentioned in previous updates, my plans are to continue teaching in Ukraine (mostly online) for at least another year. And then we will re-evaluate what God is calling us to do. We have opportunities to help with mission agencies in training and providing pastoral care for missionaries. We are most interested in helping with one group that sends missionaries to closed countries. Pray that we will have wisdom and know what God is calling us to do. Also, our finances are stable so far, but things are much more expensive here than in Ukraine. Pray that our support levels will continue for at least the coming year.
Family Update …
This month has been a very busy month with many family events and gatherings. Joy graduated from Nursing school at the beginning of May and her triplet girls graduated from High School the following week. It was a wonderful time being with them and celebrating this event. Also, Joel and Ally came up from Florida, so we got to spend some time with them also.
Then, the following week, Joy came up to Fayetteville and we celebrated her birthday. Haven, Harley, Kristina and Nadia made her birthday extra special with the little gifts they made for her.
Meredith is expecting her 4th child at the end of July and Sean has had to be gone for a number of ministry trips. So, Joy has been coming up to Fayetteville on her days off to help Meredith out with the kids. Of course, all the little girls love seeing Joy a lot!
Even though we have been super busy with the house, we have been able to take a couple of days to do some things with our family. Katya’s mom has been here with us, and she has been a great help. She watches our girls so that Katya and I can go to work on our house. We also made a short trip to War Eagle Mill (5 minutes from Hiding Place Hollow) and enjoyed climbing on the rocks. Also, one afternoon, we took the girls to a little park near Rogers, and they had a great time playing in the creek and climbing on rocks.
After church one Sunday, we took Katya’s mom to “Grandma’s Diner” for lunch. This is a little place in Huntsville that serves delicious home-cooked meals. We had a great lunch and Katya even managed to snap a rare picture of the two of us together!
Our House …
We continue to make progress on the house, though not as much we were hoping. Our main builder wanted to have 2 weeks to work on other jobs, so we let him do that. That put us behind another couple of weeks. But we have the walls finished and we should be getting the roof and windows this coming week. That will make a big difference because we will be able to work inside after that.
My daily schedule has been brutal. I usually get to the property about sun-up and work until about 12 noon. Then I take a break and work on class papers and other things before heading back to work at the property around 4 pm and stay until dark (about 9 pm). Then I do the same the next day. Needless to say, I’m tired and sore. Someone said, “But you are getting a lot of sweat equity.” I said, “I don’t know about equity, but I sure have accumulated a lot of sweat!”
Everyone has been pitching in too. A couple days a week, Katya has been working with me, and her mom has been watching the girls. Often, we bring everyone to the property and even the girls and Katya’s mom help out. Last week, Sean (Cooper) and I spent a few days putting on sill plates so we can attach the roof next week. And we have even had a friend from church come over and help with moving dirt and gravel. It has truly been a joint effort for us all.
Our biggest need now is finances to finish the house. We are still hoping that our house in Ukraine will sell soon because we need that money. We have had some people looking, but no buyer yet. Please pray for this. In May, Russia renewed and increased its missile attacks on Kyiv and that has very negatively affected the real estate market in Kyiv. The realtors have reduced the price on the house over $30,000 since we first listed it! It is sad to see this happening and we are just hoping we can sell it before prices fall any further.
Also, it seems obvious now that we will not be able to get into the house before the end of the summer. Our plan is to stay in a camper on the property for a couple of months (until it is too cold) while we try to finish the house. One family has already offered their camper to us for the fall. It will be difficult, but we think it will be manageable.
Pray for Ukraine …
The situation is Ukraine is mixed news. On one hand, Ukraine is doing an incredible job of defending the country and even pushing the Russian troops back in the east and the south. All Russia seems capable of doing right now is launching missile attacks on residential areas to create discouragement. But Ukraine is holding on well and we pray that they will be able to continue to defend and protect their territory from these attacks. Pray for the people of Russia to stand up to Putin and demand a change. I think this is probably the only way for this war to end.
Also, pray for our students and alumni who continue to serve the gospel through the armed forces, through humanitarian needs and through continuing to minister in the churches.
We are grateful for a heavenly Father who watches over us and lovingly cares for us. Thank you for all your prayers for us during these very difficult days!
By His Grace,
Jim, Katya, Kristina and Nadia
If you missed previous updates or just want to read some short theological reflections, you can find these at our website at https://teachingresources.org/ .
Also, some have asked about how to support us. You can send checks to Teaching Resources International, PO Box 1025, Cabot, AR 72023 or pay through PayPal on our website. Just put “#1000 Ehrhard” in the memo so our treasurer knows where to allocate the funds. If you want to help with our relocation fund or building efforts, put Relocation in the memo.
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