The Father is Waiting

God lives and works today. He is a God of love and in His love has prepared something wonderful for us. It's not just a dream or a fairy tale.

Today's meditation by Basilea Schlink shares about a wonderful reality that is ours for the asking. It's not the host of angels that God loves so much. No, it's us.

His sinful children to Him His fatherly heart belongs. He has prepared a dwelling place for us. He wants to hold a feast for us as Jesus tried to show us in His parables.

The Heavenly Father is waiting. He's waiting for us to come home. He wants to rejoice in us and with us.

Why is God the Father waiting so anxiously for His children to come to Him? Because a true father cannot live without his children. He wants them to be happy and to have them close to Him. And so it is with God, our Heavenly Father.

However, how often He must lament because we, His children, don't want to come to Him. We think of Voltaire who hated God and scornfully declared, no, I don't want to, in answer to God's fatherly love that sought him during his lifetime. His books were read by many.

Even kings and princes sought his company. However, he turned many people away from God through all that he said and thought. When he felt that death was drawing close, Voltaire fell into despair and called in a priest.

Yes, in the presence of two witnesses, he wrote a statement saying that he renounced his disbelief and said that he wanted to turn back to God. When his atheistic friends came to visit him on his deathbed, Voltaire cursed them and had them thrown out of the room. You're the ones, he cried out in despair, who've brought me into this situation.

You're the ones I have to thank for this miserable reputation. When the doctor came in, the dying man cried out to him, I'm forsaken by God and men. Doctor, I'll give you half my wealth if you can extend my life for six months.

When the doctor said he couldn't live for six more days, Voltaire called out, then I'll go with you to hell. Soon after that, he died, far, far away from God's dwelling place. And we? How would we die if today were the last day of our lives? Would the fatherly arms of God be wide open to welcome us because we, not just once, but every day, turn to Him in repentance? Or is God's heart weeping over us, lamenting, where is my child? Why doesn't he come home to me and bring me his sin? I want my child to experience that I enjoy doing good things for him.

Will one day the hour come when it will be too late for us, forever? Yes, today. Today the father is still waiting for you and me. Today it is still not too late.

Why don't we run to God's fatherly arms, which are ready and waiting to embrace us in infinite love? Why don't we want to place our lives under God's dominion? The father is waiting. Is he waiting in vain for you? Come ye home, O children, come ye. To your nearest father, come back home.

You have been listening to a program written by Basilea Schlink of the Little Land of Canaan. To learn more about how God lives and works today, visit us at our website, www.canaan.org. That's K-A-N-A-A-N dot org. If you contact us, we would be happy to send you a free inspirational booklet.

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