God Never Lost You

‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.'
     - Luke 15:31

The younger son got lost, stuck in lust and drinking. The older son got lost, stuck in resentment and self-righteousness. But the father never got lost. He kept an eye out for them, and could not help himself but to run out to them (if you notice, he does that once for each son in the story).

As the great African saint said, "You welcome all who come to you, though you never lost them" (Augustine of Hippo, 400 AD). The father is constantly welcoming us because he's never lost us. He keeps reminding us that "I am always with you" and "everything I have is yours." The father's great love cannot be overcome by the younger son's obvious sin or by the older son's religious sin. The father is always with them, always giving to them. That's just who the father is.

Take some time today and praise God - perhaps with a worship song - for all of God's goodness to you.