The Parable of the Father's Heart - Luke 15 - CCS by G Campbell Morgan.
Our Lord Jesus uttered the supreme Parable of His teaching in revelation of God to human beings in their lost condition. The three phases of the Parable constitute a wonderful unveiling of the Divine heart. In each the greatest joy is shown to be that of God, for the deepest rejoicing was that of the shepherd who owned the sheep, the woman who lost the coin, and the father who mourned over his son.
Firstly, we have the aspect of grace as revealed in the work of the Son, who came to seek and save the lost, for there was no effort on the part of the sheep to return. Secondly, we have the facet of grace in the work of the Spirit, expressed through the ministry of the church, who seeks for the lost in the midst of darkness and desolation. Here again, God is revealed patiently seeking the lost when there is no quest for man to come back.
Then thirdly, it reveals, the characteristic of grace in the love of the Father. It is a love that was always, set upon the sinner shone out in its brightest glory in the welcome given, so overwhelming in its tenderness and riches. In this phase, the element of will in the life of the sinner is introduced, in the form of the perversion which took him away to the far country. It was necessary there should be a return of the will to allegiance, and this expressed itself in his repentance and return. The Divine Love, is the theme of the whole discourse, for full of matchless beauty, for it this Love which goes into the wilderness, and continues to seek the lost and welcome them home.
