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What Every Father Should Know About The Father | Luke 15:11-24
- Harvest Baptist Church Louisville
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
June 2026 Featured Monthly Sermon
The story of the prodigal son is one of the most well-known parables in all of Scripture. It is often remembered because of the son's rebellion, poor choices, and eventual return home. While those details are certainly important, this parable reveals something even greater. It gives us a powerful picture of the heart of our Heavenly Father.
On Father's Day, it is easy to focus on the example of earthly fathers. Some have been blessed with godly fathers who faithfully pointed them to Christ, while others have experienced disappointment, hurt, or loss. No matter our personal experiences, every person has the opportunity to know a Father who is perfect in His love, unwavering in His patience, and rich in His mercy.
As Jesus shared this parable in Luke 15, He wasn't simply telling the story of a wayward son. He was revealing the character of God. Through the father's patience, compassion, forgiveness, and joy, we see the same love that God extends to every sinner who turns to Him. Whether you are a father seeking to lead your family well or someone who simply needs the hope of God's grace today, this passage reminds us what every father, and every believer, should know about the Father.
The Father Demonstrates Incredible Patience
The story begins with one of the most heartbreaking requests a father could hear. The younger son asked for his inheritance before his father had even died. In Jewish culture, this was more than a financial request. It was a rejection of the relationship. The son was essentially saying that he wanted his father's possessions without wanting his father. Even after hearing those painful words, the father responded with remarkable patience and allowed his son to make his own decision.
God often shows that same patience toward us. He gives us the freedom to choose whether we will follow Him, even when our decisions lead us away from Him. The father knew his son would have to experience the consequences of his choices before his heart could truly change. Sometimes the greatest lessons are learned not by avoiding hardship but by walking through it and discovering our need for God.
Even after his son left home, the father never stopped watching for him. When the son finally returned, the father saw him while he was still a great way off. That tells us his father had been looking for him all along. It is a beautiful reminder that our Heavenly Father never gives up on His children. His patience is always accompanied by hope, waiting for the day when we choose to come back to Him.
“And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living." Luke 15:12 (KJV)
The Father Demonstrates Incredible Patience
The younger son's request for his inheritance was far more than asking for money. In Jewish culture, an inheritance was received after a father's death. By asking for it early, the son was essentially saying that he valued what his father could give him more than the relationship he had with him. It was a painful rejection, yet the father responded with remarkable patience. Instead of forcing his son to stay, he allowed him to make his own choice and experience the consequences that followed.
This is a beautiful picture of how God works in our lives. The Lord does not force anyone to follow Him. He gives each person the opportunity to choose, even when those choices lead away from Him. While God desires that we walk in obedience, He also knows that many people only recognize their need for Him after discovering that life apart from Him leaves them empty.
Perhaps the greatest display of the father's patience is found in what happened after his son left. The father never stopped watching. When the son finally returned home, his father saw him while he was still "a great way off." That simple phrase reminds us that the father had been waiting and hoping for his son's return all along. In the same way, our Heavenly Father patiently waits for those who have wandered from Him, always ready to welcome them home when they turn back to Him.
"And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living." Luke 15:12 (KJV)
The Father Shows Compassion Beyond Failure
When the prodigal son finally made the decision to return home, he expected rejection. He had wasted his inheritance, brought shame upon his family, and planned to ask only to become one of his father's servants. Instead of finding a father waiting with condemnation, he found a father whose heart was filled with compassion. Before the son could even reach the house, his father saw him, ran to meet him, embraced him, and welcomed him home.
The father's response reminds us that God sees far beyond our failures. The world often defines people by their worst mistakes, but God sees the person behind the failure. His desire is not simply to remind us of where we have been but to restore us to where we belong. The father did not wait for his son to prove himself worthy. His compassion moved him toward his son the moment he saw genuine repentance.
This same compassion should shape the lives of every believer. Pride often keeps relationships broken because people become more concerned with proving they are right than restoring fellowship. The father chose love over pride and reconciliation over resentment. That is the same compassion our Heavenly Father has shown us through Jesus Christ, and it is the example He calls us to follow in our own relationships.
"And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." Luke 15:20 (KJV)
The Father Offers Complete Forgiveness
As the son returned home, he had already rehearsed what he would say. He admitted that he had sinned against heaven and against his father, and he no longer considered himself worthy to be called a son. His plan was to ask for a servant's position, believing that was the best he could hope for. Before he could even finish his speech, however, the father interrupted him with an incredible display of grace.
Rather than treating him like a servant, the father restored him as a son. He called for the best robe, placed a ring on his hand, and put shoes on his feet. Each of these gifts pointed to complete restoration. The robe covered his shame, the ring represented his place in the family, and the shoes distinguished him from a servant. The father did not make his son earn his way back. He welcomed him home because the relationship had been restored.
That is exactly how God forgives those who come to Him in repentance. Salvation is not about earning God's acceptance through good works. It is about receiving the grace that Christ freely offers. When we confess our sin, God does not simply overlook it. He forgives it, restores us, and welcomes us into His family as His children.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 (KJV)
The Father Rejoices When the Lost Return
After restoring his son, the father called for a celebration. Instead of focusing on the mistakes that had been made or the inheritance that had been lost, he rejoiced because his son had come home. The relationship had been restored, and that was far more valuable than anything the son had wasted. What could have been a moment of punishment became a moment of joy.
Jesus used this celebration to reveal the heart of God. Throughout Luke 15, every parable ends with rejoicing when something that was lost is found. Heaven celebrates when a sinner repents because every life is precious to God. His greatest desire is not to condemn those who have wandered, but to see them return and experience the forgiveness only He can provide.
This truth also serves as a challenge for believers. We should never lose sight of what truly matters. People are more valuable than possessions, relationships are more important than pride, and every person who comes to Christ is a reason to rejoice. The father's joy reminds us that God's grace is always greater than our past, and there is always hope for those who return to Him.
“For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry." Luke 15:24 (KJV)
A Personal Invitation
The greatest lesson from this story is not simply that Eutychus fell. It is why he fell. He was surrounded by truth, sitting among God's people, yet his heart had become inattentive. The danger was not the height of the window. The danger was the gradual drift that took place before the fall.
That warning is just as relevant today. It is possible to attend church, hear biblical preaching, and still allow distractions, complacency, and compromise to slowly pull us away from God. Spiritual drift often happens quietly, making it difficult to recognize until the consequences become obvious.
This passage invites each of us to examine our own hearts. Are we drawing closer to the Lord, or are we living near the edge? God calls His people to wake up spiritually, renew their focus, and walk closely with Him. The safest place for every believer is a life fully surrendered to Christ.
“For when my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up." Psalm 27:10 (KJV)
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Which characteristic of the Heavenly Father stood out to you most: His patience, compassion, forgiveness, or joy? Why?
Have you ever experienced a season like the prodigal son where you drifted away from God? What brought you back?
How does this parable change your understanding of God's willingness to forgive and restore those who repent?
If you are a father or a parent, what is one way you can better reflect God's heart in your home this week?
Is there a broken relationship in your life where God may be calling you to choose compassion and reconciliation over pride?
What practical step can you take today to draw closer to your Heavenly Father?
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