The two Fathers

“While he was still a long way off, his father saw him…” — Luke 15:20

I have often thought about the father in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son.

Every morning, perhaps he looked down the road. Every evening, perhaps he wondered, Is today the day? He knew his son had left. He knew his son was suffering somewhere. But he did not know where. He could not see him. He could not protect him. He could not carry his burden or rescue him from the consequences of his choices.

All he could do was wait… and love.

Then one day, in the distance, he saw a familiar figure. His son was coming home. Before the son could reach him, the father ran.

He embraced him.

He kissed him.

He restored him.

What a beautiful picture of the Father’s heart.

Yet there is another Father in Scripture.Unlike the father in the parable, our heavenly Father never lost sight of His Son.

From Bethlehem to Nazareth…

From the wilderness to Galilee…

From Gethsemane to Golgotha…

The Father saw every step.

He heard every prayer.

He witnessed every act of obedience.

He saw every lash laid across His Son’s back.

He watched the crown of thorns pressed upon His brow.

He saw the nails driven through His hands and feet.

Nothing escaped His eyes.

If the earthly father would gladly have spared his son a little suffering had he been able, how much more must the heavenly Father have loved His only begotten Son.

Yet the Father did not stop the cross. Not because He loved His Son less. But because through His Son, He loved the world so deeply.

The Son was not suffering because He had wandered away from His Father. He was suffering because He was perfectly obeying His Father.

One son came home because of his own rebellion. The other Son willingly left heaven because of our rebellion. One father waited for his son to return.

The other Father watched His Son complete the mission they had purposed together before the foundation of the world.

One son returned wearing rags. The other Son returned clothed in glory. One son received a robe because of his father’s mercy. The other Son was exalted because His redeeming work was finished.

The father of the prodigal rejoiced because his son had been found.

The Father rejoiced because His Son had accomplished salvation for all who would believe.

Perhaps that is why the cross reveals not only the love of Jesus, but also the love of the Father.

We often imagine the Father as distant while Jesus is near. But Scripture tells a different story.

“The Father Himself loves you.” (John 16:27)

The cross was never the Son persuading an unwilling Father to love us. It was the Father and the Son, together, accomplishing the greatest rescue the world has ever known.

When I think of these two fathers, I am overwhelmed. One stood helpless, longing for his lost son.

The other stood sovereign, watching His beloved Son willingly endure the suffering that would bring countless lost sons and daughters home.

The first father received one son back into his house.

The second Father, through the sacrifice of His Son, opened His house to all who would come.

What amazing love.

Not only the love of the Son who gave Himself for us…but the love of the Father who gave His Son for us.

July 19, 2026.