When God Ran

I have another article about ”rushing”. Where I talk about Yeshua never rushing, and how we should take that on board and slow down.

But there is a big difference between running, and rushing. Basically it comes down to why you’re doing it.
Running is just moving fast. Rushing is trying to get somewhere, or do something as quick as you can, when you really don’t need to. It’s OK to run, just don’t rush.

And while Yeshua never rushed, there was a day when God the father, ran.

You probably know the story of the prodigal son. The son who demanded his inheritance NOW, and went off and wasted it on immoral living. And who, when it was all gone, and he was so starving that he wanted to eat the scraps he was feeding to someone’s pigs, he finally got to a point of saying to himself, “What am I doing! Even the paid workers on my father’s farm always have good food. I should just go back and ask for a job there.”

His father saw him walking home while he was still quite a way off. And he was so ecstatic that his “lost” son was coming home that he ran out to meet him. And threw a big celebration. He was so happy.

Of course this parable that Yeshua told is about us!
We live our rebellious lives, and then hopefully one day, realise that our way isn’t working, and we need to hand our life back to God, and trust in his offer of salvation through Yeshua. Whatever we have to give up, we’ll be way in front.

And when God sees us coming to him, he will run out to meet us. He will literally be that excited that we are coming home.

Can you imagine that? God being so excited to see you coming home that he would run to come out to you, and give you a big hug, and treat you like the long lost son that you are. (Just quoting the parable, don’t get me started on gender neutrality).

This article was inspired by a 1990’s song called “When God Ran”, by Benny Hester. It’s a wonderful song, and even more than 30 years later I still remember how deeply moved by it I was when my Californian church pastor’s daughter sang it as a solo in church. I still tear up when I hear it now, thinking about God loving me so much, that even being so devastated by my rebellion, and yet he was so excited to see me, that he ran to meet me when I came home.

We see the same in John 21 when Yeshua reinstates Petros.
Just like the prodigal son, he knew he had done wrong, and didn’t deserve reinstatement, but Yeshua put him back to the role of feeding his sheep, discipling his followers.
No lecture of condemnation, just reinstatement, based on Yeshua knowing Petros’ heart.

And yours?
Maybe you’re still feeding pigs. It’s time for you to return home.
God is watching for you all the time, to see if today is the day you will walk back over that hill, and come home to him.

Maybe you messed up, maybe you even damaged the church, you let Yeshua down.
You might be surprised - talk with Yeshua, he might reinstate you to an even bigger ministry.
Read John 21 and see what the spirit is saying to you, personally.

Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes
 With forgiveness in his voice
 He said, “Son, do you know I still love you?”


	When God Ran
READING Luke 15 Hosea 11 Psalm 32 Isaiah 55 Jeremiah 31 John 21 And the only time, the only time I ever saw him run Was when he ran to me Took me in his arms, held my head to his chest Said, “My son’s come home again” Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes With forgiveness in his voice He said, “Son, do you know I still love you?”	I have another article about ”rushing”. Where I talk about Yeshua never rushing, and how we should take that on board and slow down. But there is a big difference between running, and rushing. Basically it comes down to why you’re doing it. Running is just moving fast. Rushing is trying to get somewhere, or do something as quick as you can, when you really don’t need to. It’s OK to run, just don’t rush. And while Yeshua never rushed, there was a day when God the father, ran. You probably know the story of the prodigal son. The son who demanded his inheritance NOW, and went off and wasted it on immoral living. And who, when it was all gone, and he was so starving that he wanted to eat the scraps he was feeding to someone’s pigs, he finally got to a point of saying to himself, “What am I doing! Even the paid workers on my father’s farm always have good food. I should just go back and ask for a job there.” His father saw him walking home while he was still quite a way off. And he was so ecstatic that his “lost” son was coming home that he ran out to meet him. And threw a big celebration. He was so happy. Of course this parable that Yeshua told is about us! We live our rebellious lives, and then hopefully one day, realise that our way isn’t working, and we need to hand our life back to God, and trust in his offer of salvation through Yeshua. Whatever we have to give up, we’ll be way in front. And when God sees us coming to him, he will run out to meet us. He will literally be that excited that we are coming home. Can you imagine that? God being so excited to see you coming home that he would run to come out to you, and give you a big hug, and treat you like the long lost son that you are. (Just quoting the parable, don’t get me started on gender neutrality). This article was inspired by a 1990’s song called “When God Ran”, by Benny Hester. It’s a wonderful song, and even more than 30 years later I still remember how deeply moved by it I was when my Californian church pastor’s daughter sang it as a solo in church. I still tear up when I hear it now, thinking about God loving me so much, that even being so devastated by my rebellion, and yet he was so excited to see me, that he ran to meet me when I came home. We see the same in John 21 when Yeshua reinstates Petros. Just like the prodigal son, he knew he had done wrong, and didn’t deserve reinstatement, but Yeshua put him back to the role of feeding his sheep, discipling his followers. No lecture of condemnation, just reinstatement, based on Yeshua knowing Petros’ heart. And yours? Maybe you’re still feeding pigs. It’s time for you to return home. God is watching for you all the time, to see if today is the day you will walk back over that hill, and come home to him. Maybe you messed up, maybe you even damaged the church, you let Yeshua down. You might be surprised - talk with Yeshua, he might reinstate you to an even bigger ministry. Read John 21 and see what the spirit is saying to you, personally. Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes  With forgiveness in his voice  He said, “Son, do you know I still love you?”