There’s only one place in the bible where we see God running.
“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.” -Jesus Christ, Luke 15:20 (NLT)
Maybe you think of God as a stern faced old man who likes to make rules and is filled with judgement, well that’s not at all who God is. God is for you. He wants you to do well. He is on your side. If you want to know what God is really like, learn about Jesus.
Philip once said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
And Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?” (John 14:8-9)
So to learn what God is really like, learn what Jesus Christ is really like. Start with the gospel of John, then read Matthew, Mark, and Luke. You might be surprised at the true nature of God. God tells us if you or I draw near to Him, He will draw near to you. (James 4:8)
So draw near, and experience God running in your own life. He’s waiting for you. He’s watching for when you begin to move toward Him. And while you are still a long way off, He’ll see you, and become filled with compassion. He’ll run to you and embrace you. Go to Him.
Maybe you have wandered away like the prodigal son. Maybe like the prodigal you’re starving right now, spiritually malnourished. Maybe like the prodigal you’ve finally come to yourself and realized life with faith in your Father and His Son Jesus Christ is more fulfilling than life without. Maybe you realize the source of your disillusionment is you put too much stock in expecting others to live up to expectations God has for you. Maybe now you’re ready to focus on what God has for you, instead of what others should be doing for God.
All the prodigal son had to do to be reconciled to his father was to change direction. All he had to do was to move toward his father. That’s how it is with you and God. So pray right now, tell Him you’re coming. Ask Him to run to you as He did for the prodigal. Let Him feed you, find a way to regularly study God’s words from His scriptures. Go to His house and enjoy Christian community.
God’s waiting. He’ll celebrate your return.
The Story of the Prodigal
Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’
“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began. Luke 15:11-24
I write about several themes on God Running and you can see what’s written for each theme by clicking on a category in the right hand column of the home page. Themes include How Jesus loved people (and how you can love like Jesus), Marriage, The book of Genesis, Answers to Questions from Genuine Seekers, Suffering, and the Gospel of John. Those aren’t the only topics, but the main ones. I post once or twice a week.
I’m blessed to live in Portland, Oregon with my wife Kathy, and my two sons and their families.
Drop me an email at kurt@kurtbennettbooks.com, or friend me on Facebook, or find me on Twitter or Instagram. If you want me to speak to your group in a video meeting, just send me an email: kurt@kurtbennettbooks.com .
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It’s my hope and my prayer God Running will richly bless you and your family.
In Jesus name.
Newly released book by Kurt Bennett, now available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
- Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.
- How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).
- The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.
- How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.
- How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.
- How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).
- How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).
- How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.
- How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
A life of loving like Jesus.