Love Like a Prodigal Son Dad
Good Son-Day!!!
Love Like a Prodigal Son Dad
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. I know I’m supposed to be taking it easy today, but my heart wouldn’t let the day pass without acknowledging the fathers I know and admire. Being a dad is an honor, one wrapped in responsibility, sacrifice, and a whole lot of love. It means caring for your children, your children’s children, and even the parents who brought you into this world.
And let’s be honest, it takes a special kind of love to navigate all the twists, turns, and unexpected plot twists that come with family life. There’s one father I look to as a model, and he comes straight out of a New Testament parable: the father in the story of the prodigal son.
Most people focus on the son. But me? I’m drawn to the father.
What I see in him is what I try to cultivate in myself: patience, understanding, wise counsel, and a love so strong it doesn’t care what anyone else thinks when it comes to his child.
When that father saw his son returning home, broken, humbled, rehearsing his apology—he didn’t wait on the porch with crossed arms. He ran to him. He restored him. He covered him with compassion.
Luke 15:17–20
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
Now here’s the part we often miss:
In that culture, an older man running through the streets was considered undignified, almost foolish. But love doesn’t check with culture before it moves. Love doesn’t ask permission to embrace. Love doesn’t wait for approval.
That father didn’t care how he looked.
He cared that his son was alive.
He cared that restoration was possible.
He cared enough to love first and ask questions later.
That’s the kind of father I aim to be.
A father whose love is steady, restoring, and unconditional.
A father who gives his children love, inheritance, strength, and a safe place to land.
This is what we call unrequited love, love that is gracious, enduring, and expecting nothing in return.
The fathers I know, my family, my friends, many of them embody this prodigal‑son‑father kind of love. They love boldly. They love consistently. They love without keeping score.
To all of you, Happy Father’s Day.
May your love continue to run toward your children, even when life tries to slow you down.
Hallelujah! Sing a New Song to GOD. Sing HIS praise in the assembly of godly people. Psalm 149:1.
"Come Jesus Come", 2025, CeCe Winans-Love
Lyrics in closed captions.
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