The Parable of the Loving Father

There was a royal father who had many children. He raised them in loving kindness and treated all with gentle compassion.

One summer, the children vacationed at the family estate while their father remained in the city. He regularly corresponded with them, yet they stopped replying.

Then news reached the father that his children were living contrary to what he had shown them: some fought among themselves; others caroused throughout the region, harming both neighbours and property; still others engaged in the darkest and vilest of practices.

The father sent messages expressing his love and pardon for the children while asking them to follow his example. They did not reply.

The father sent his eldest son to tell his siblings of their father’s devotion and forgiveness while demanding they live as he showed them. The children turned on their eldest brother, beating him to the point of death.

As the estate and environs drifted into chaos, their mother was sent to help her children. She pled for them to live in modesty and mercy like their father and eldest brother. Trembling, she cautioned them that if they did not change, they would bring further disaster upon others and themselves.

Some children ignored their mother. Others cursed and said, “We do not need you, your son or any father. This is our life and our estate, so no one has the right to tell us what to think or do. Besides, he who claims to be ‘unconditionally loving’ must accept others without conditions. Neither he nor any disaster will touch us. Now, get lost!”

When the loving father heard all his children had said and done, they grieved him to tears. What was he to do?

Religion, Endtimes, Madness:

I have just returned from a psyche ward of a hospital, visiting and praying with someone who believes he is the anti-Christ and Christ. He is talking about demons, the devil, the beast, judgment, performance, fear, anxiety, shame, guilt, condemnation, sin, Revelation, 144000, hell…and being beyond grace.

It is very sad to see a wonderful person–kind, loving and generous– in such a state. Please pray for our friend.

When I have talked with people struggling with mental/spiritual issues in mental hospitals, on the streets, in churches and homes; they are often talking about these very religious and end-times topics–in a constant loop, which can seem almost unstoppable. These people are usually full of fear–thinking that they have committed the unpardonable sin–along with guilt and shame. They are obsessed with religious darkness.

Many sufferers have been feed by a system of religion by professors, teachers, pastors, youtubers, facebookers, tweeters, bloggers, who will never admit that their teachings are causing the problem. Many of these pundits will blame the devil and the victim for the situation, or conveniently ignore it. The teachers may have escaped the madness and torment themselves, but they are culpable for tormenting and destroying countless numbers of people’s view of God and themselves.

I believe Jesus saw what the religious teachers of His generation were doing with these types of teachings and says about them, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin” (Luke 17:1-2).

Jesus is warning the Pharisees and teachers of the law (and their modern Christian followers) that the effect of their teaching far from leading people away from sin through fear and judgment, were leading them into sin and despair. And if anyone will be held accountable in a judgment, it is not the ‘sinner’ but their teachers and judges.

If there are any in need of repentance, those in greatest need of it are these teachers. Jesus is calling them to share the good news to Abba’s children and stop the dark teachings about the devil and hell, which are in fact from the darkness. Darkness glorifies itself not the Light.

If you are listening to these teachers. I ask you to ask the Holy Spirit to teach you about who Abba Father and Jesus are and who you are.

If you is focusing teachings on the eschatology of judgment and wrath, please for God’s sake, ask the Holy Spirit whether what you are sharing is presenting Father God as Jesus did.

Eschatology (teaching about the end-times) is not separated from the gospel (good news).

Let the suffering children come to Jesus and Abba and do not prevent them from coming with fear, guilt and condemnation.
Let them see that God is love. Let Abba’s children know this and that they are unconditionally loved–this will change their lives and bring it into agreement with what Jesus has already done for them.

 

Christmas Gift: Unconditional but conditional?

Giving gifts, to both the naughty and nice, hoping for nothing in return is the true Spirit of Christmas. For God gave Himself to us without conditions—even when we were Grinches and Scrooges.

God’s love is unconditional. A person’s accepting or rejecting that love does not cause Him to love or not to love that person.  Even if a person hates God, He still loves that person as His child (e.g. the Prodigals, extravagant givers, father and son).  “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).  It is that He loved us to remove our sin, lovelessness.

He loved us while we were still sinners, His enemies (Rom. 5: 8, 10).  Everything that Abba did for us in Christ by Holy Spirit was done while we were still enemies—rejecting, blaspheming, cursing, beating and killing Him.  He did this because it is who He is, unconditional love.  He did this because He knew what we were (sinners) and who we truly would be (sons), by His faith.

Everything in the life of God is rooted and grounded in this agape, unconditional love.  Everything that we have in Christ is rooted and grounded in love (Eph. 3:17).

Grace is not merely a dispensation that will pass away with the end of the church age—Grace is eternal.  Grace is the unconditional love who God is and what He gives, His-whole-self.  It is His loving faithfulness towards us, seeing us for who we truly are when we were His enemies.  Our faith is His opening our eyes to finally see His faithfulness and say, “Yes, and thank you for loving me, for taking me and replacing me with Yourself!”

But what some do not see is that everything that God is and does is agape (unconditional love), 1 John 4: 8, 16.  Perhaps unwittingly, they say there are conditions on certain aspects of God’s love.

The fountain-head from which everything flows is unconditional love.  Therefore, everything that has this source is unconditional.  Salvation, righteousness, justification, sanctification, reconciliation, regeneration and adoption these are all one river of unconditional love, grace.  They are one is God is one—there is no separation or division.  They are far simpler than many theologians and preachers would have us believe.  And there is absolutely nothing we can do to earn them.

There is no parcelling out the God’s gift.  It is a package deal, a whole sacrifice, that is unconditional—once for all at the finished work of the cross.  This unconditional love includes everyone and excludes no one.  In Himself, God has given everyone all things.  They are already there just waiting to be discovered.

Merry Christmas, unconditionally beloved of Abba, Jesus and Holy Spirit!

Enjoy the Gift!

 

Eric Wilding (WILDKING MINISTRIES)