June 21
Belonging Before Believing
When Jesus taught about the Father, He didn’t focus on human effort. He highlighted divine initiative.
Consider the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32… The son leaves. The father waits. The son wanders. The father watches. The son rehearses a speech. The father runs before the speech is even spoken.
The father doesn’t wait for repentance before restoring the relationship. He restores it so the son can repent from a safe place. Love comes first.
Belonging comes first.
Identity comes first—repentance, faith, and transformation happen because of the Father’s initiative, not ours.
A Love Beyond Measure: Pages 11-12
When Jesus taught about the Father, He didn’t focus on human effort. He highlighted divine initiative.
Consider the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32… The son leaves. The father waits. The son wanders. The father watches. The son rehearses a speech. The father runs before the speech is even spoken.
The father doesn’t wait for repentance before restoring the relationship. He restores it so the son can repent from a safe place. Love comes first.
Belonging comes first.
Identity comes first—repentance, faith, and transformation happen because of the Father’s initiative, not ours.
A Love Beyond Measure: Pages 11-12