I was reading last week of a young man who drove his father’s new truck to a year-end party at his college. On the drive back home, he fell asleep at the steering wheel and collided into the back of another vehicle parked on the shoulder of the freeway. He suffered a punctured lung and was taken by ambulance to a local E.R.
The young man survived the accident, but he felt humiliated. He relates, “I totaled my dad’s new truck… I was ashamed, embarrassed, and utterly worthy of his scorn.”1 When his father arrived at the hospital, the young man began to express how sorry he was, but his father—who wasn’t really known for expressions of affection—stooped over, hugged him, and whispered into his son's ear that all was okay. At that moment, the truck didn’t matter to the father, his son did. The young man then continued to relate, “He reminded me of my identity as his son, and he extended undeserved forgiveness."2
Isn’t this a picture of what our heavenly Father does with us? We can mess up in royal proportions, and yet in Christ, God’s extravagant love leads him to embrace us as his beloved children, over and over again. This week, remember your identity as a child of God. You are his no matter what, and he loves you despite any screw ups. Rest in his love. Rest in his embrace.
Scott Thomas, The Gospel Shaped Leader: Leaning on Jesus to Shepherd His People (Greensboro: New Growth Press, 2021), 39.
Ibid.