You may heard it said “what we believe determines how we live. What we believe controls our thoughts, our emotions, and our actions.”

Take the parable Jesus told about the younger son who took his inheritance and ran away. Honestly, I have trouble calling it the “Parable of the Prodigal Son.” I want to call it the “Parable of the Loving Father” or “The Good Father.”

Taking that opening statement and applying it to that younger son, we can see it. He believed he didn’t need his father. He didn’t need to be under his wing any longer. So he does what the old song says, “Go on and take your money and run.” He soon found out being on his own wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, especially when things got tough.

But he remembered one thing: his father’s house. His father’s servants had it better than him. So he packed it in and headed home. His belief about his father actually fell a bit short when you think about it. He was sorry for what he did. His father went a step further: he welcomes him home and back into full sonship.

We miss out on much when we forget our loving Father has such a huge heart.

What are your feelings about that opening line?