Introduction: People often think no one loves them, but there is a God who loves and cares. John 3:16 says that God loved the world so much that He gave his only Son. God gave his Son, Jesus Christ to die for our sins so that every one who believes in him shall not perish, but have life forever. People sometimes say, ‘God doesn’t know what I’m like. He doesn’t even care.’ But the matter of the fact is that He loves you and cares for you.

The Story: God’s love for you is like the father’s love in the story Jesus told in Luke 15:11-31. In this story, I want to emphasize the love of the father. The story goes like this:

A man had two sons. They were living together as one family. One day, the younger son got an idea, which was not pleasant for the whole family. He said to his father, “Give me my part of all the things we own!” So the father divided the wealth with his two sons. He equally divided and gave equal portion to his younger son. The young son gathered up all that he had and left. He traveled far away to another country. There the son wasted his money like a fool.  He spent everything that he had. It is written that he squandered his wealth in wild living. Soon after that, the land became very dry, and there was no rain. There was not enough food to eat anywhere in that country. The son was hungry and needed money. So he went and got a job with one of the people of that country. The man sent the son into the fields to feed pigs. The son was so hungry that he wanted to eat the pig’s food, but no one gave him anything. Now the boy realized that he had been very foolish. He thought, “All of my father’s servants have plenty of food. But I am here, almost dead because I have nothing to eat.” Now the son came back to his senses. He said, “I will leave and go to my father.”

So the son left and went to his father. He was walking day and night and finally almost approached home. While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. That means the father was waiting for his son all through this days. The father felt sorry for his son and ran to him. Our God is like that. When we are disappointed, feeling discouraged, our heavenly father is not angry with us. He is thinking, “Why my son/daughter does not understand that I am there to help at the right time?” When we disobey Him and go away from God, don’t think that He is furious and condemn us immediately. Well, of course He is sad and patiently waiting for us. He is looking for the moment that we will come back to him.

What happened in the story? The father hugged and kissed his son. The son said, “Father, I sinned against God and have done wrong to you. I am not good enough to be called your son.” The father was so happy. He said to his servants, “Hurry! Bring the best clothes and dress him.” He also put a ring on his finger and good shoes on his feet. He ordered his servants, “Bring a fat calf. We will kill it and have plenty to eat. Then we can have a party.” So they began to have a party. The father said, “My son was dead, but now he is alive again!” “He was lost, but now he is found!” “So let’s celebrate and be glad.” What a joy it is for our heavenly Father when we come back to him in repentance!

People still ask the question, “Can I have God’s love in my life?” What a beautiful story it is!

All of us want to have fathers like this. We wish if our parents, teachers, and leaders were like this father in the story. Remember, people of this world may fail because they are human beings. But we have a Father in heaven, always waiting for us, loving us, and forgiving us. Bible says, “While we were still enemies God loved us.” That is why He gave his one and only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14:23, “If people love me, they will obey my teaching.  My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. What kind of love our heavenly father has for us?

1. His love for us is so great: We are the sons and daughters of our God. We have a loving father in heaven. Just like the father in the story, our God loves us so much. God’s love is so high – we can’t get over it. It is so wide – we can’t get rounded it. It’s so deep – we can’t get into it. Do you know how much he loved us? In Romans 5:10, we read that even while we were still enemies, God loved us. How did he demonstrate his love for us? He demonstrated his love for us by giving his only one Son – Jesus Christ. Jesus came and died on the Cross of Calvary for our sins. Bible says that we are sinners – “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23. KJV). So what happened? "There is no one righteous, not even one (Rom 3:10, NIV). So there should be something that can wash away our sins so that we become righteous people. What can wash away our sins? – Nothing but the blood of Jesus. The blood that was shed on the Cross of Calvary is sufficient for the remission of our sins and salvation of the whole world. So what shall we do? Allow this blood of Jesus to wash away our sins. How can we allow this blood to wash away our sins? Shall we take the animals and cut them and sprinkle that blood on us? People still do that in different parts of this world in their ignorance. No! We should not do that. Why? It is because Jesus died once for all and shed the last drop of His blood on the cross of Calvary. What must we do then? We must do two things: (1) Confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," you will be saved. (2) Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be justified. (Rom. 10:9-10). How many of you have experienced this salvation in your life? If any one could not accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, This is the best time to give your heart to Jesus Christ. Submit yourself to the great love of our Father God. He still loves you. Whatever your sins may be, he is right here with you and ready to save you. It may be red as crimson, but he can make you white as snow (Isa 1:18).

2. His love is with freedom: The father in the story might have told his younger son not to take all what he had and go away. He might have tried his best to prevent him from doing this. Still it was his own choice. God has given us so much freedom. What you and I are doing is that we take advantage of that freedom. We, a few times choose to do good and many time to do wrong. When we do wrong and see nothing happens for sometime, do not think that God is not seeing that or He is pleased in what we are doing. God prevents us so much not to do the wrong choice, but he never use force to stop us. How? It is through his Word. That is why it is very important for us to read and meditate on God’s Word every morning and evening. Knowledge of the Scripture will make you wise for salvation. Psalms 119:105 says, “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet” so that we may not stumble over sins and then it says, “a light for my path” so that we may be guided and led to the right place in the darkness.

3. His love still waits: The younger son had gone away from home for many days. He has taken everything what he could. He destroyed everything. He did not communicate with his father about him. Still this father was waiting for him and longing to see him again. He was not angry with him. We are sometimes not like that. We get angry with our Lord. We question God in dark times of our lives. We are discouraged. We are ungrateful to Him. We don’t read God’s Word. We don’t pray. Hey, never think that Jesus is angry with you… He still waits for you to come back to him. Are you ready to come back to him and say, “Sorry Lord, I’m sorry, please forgive me?” The whole heaven will rejoice. God’s love is amazing.

4. God’s love is unconditional: The father in the story did not make any condition to accept his son back. He gave him everything needed when he came back to him in repentance. Our God loved us even when we were enemies to him. He doesn’t demand anything from us. One thing he demands and he always demands is REPENTANCE! That doesn’t cost you anything.

Conclusion: It is not the thought of a judging, punishing, and angry God that will prevent you from sinning, but the very thought of a loving Father in heaven. The moment I think that there is a heavenly Father who loves me, cares for me, and concerned about me, I should turn from the sinful ways and start following and serving Him. See friends, the love the Lord has for us, is an unconditional love. We have a loving Father in heaven. Come to him just like a little child comes to its father or mother. Come to him in repentance and forgiveness. He will never leave us and forsake us! His love and care for us is great! I invite you to a lifetime journey of experiencing this great love of our God in your life and work.