For our ME group tonight, with quote

Tom: This morning, I was coming home from dropping our grandchildren off at our daughter's house when my phone rang. It was Teri asking me to go by the pharmacy on the way home to pick up some medicine that she needed. So I made a right instead of a left and headed in that direction. I passed a sign at the grocery store advertising what looks like a good sale on meat (whole NY strip for $3.99/pound), and started thinking about whether it was a good idea to buy one. My mind wandered from there, and the next thing I knew I was pulling into our driveway, where I realized I had driven right past the pharmacy without stopping. I shook my head, turned around, and headed back to get my wife's medicine, beginning to berate myself a little, as I'm prone to do in that type of situation. "You idiot!" I thought. In a nod to full disclosure: I might have tossed in a not-very-kind expletive.

Teri (reading from Abba's Heart): "When Jesus told the parable of the father with two sons, He wanted to convict those who thought they were faithful to God. He wanted them to see that their hearts were actually hardened toward the Father and others, whereas the Father's heart was tender. He also told the story so that those who had been disobedient to God would know that that Father longs for them with a broken heart, ready to forgive and embrace them. If your heart is filled with shame or anger, resentment or despair, the Father's broken heart enables you to return home.

"The Father's heart is broken for you. He sent His Son to reveal His love and do whatever it takes to win back your heart. He longs to bring you home. Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him; it was the joy of finding you. (emphasis added) You are the one lost sheep, the penny, the son from Jesus' parables. Jesus left heaven to search after you. He did it so that you might enter into heaven's joy. This is the joy of heaven: when the Father's lost children come home to His embrace." - Neal Lozano, Abba's Heart, p. 38

Tom: As I drove back up Spinning Road chastising myself, as unmistakable as this beautiful, sunny morning, I felt what seemed like the voice of God in my mind, gently but firmly: "Hey! That's my son you're talking about!" I suddenly felt accepted and deeply loved.

It was as if my heavenly Father Himself was breaking into my decades-long tendency toward perfectionism to remind me that He loves me not merely despite my imperfections, but even because of them. I felt awash in His love for me, and in a moment felt transformed into His beloved son, whom He sent his own Son to bring home to His loving heart.

Dialogue question:
How has the Father used you to teach me of His heart of love for me? What are my feelings about my answer?

Follow-up dialogue prompt:
How have my experiences of earthly fatherhood interfered with knowing my heavenly Father's love? How do I feel sharing that with you?