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- The Lord Loves Everyone
- Introduction
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion....
The Lord is near to all
and His tender mercies are over all His works.
(Psalm 145:8,9)
Like the sun shining around the world, the Lord's love goes out to everyone, whether good or evil. He is always present with us, sustaining our life. We can choose to distance ourselves from the Lord, yet He still loves us and yearns to be conjoined with us and bring us genuine happiness.
The parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) gives us a beautiful picture of how the Lord's love works in our lives. Because He loves us, the Lord gives each person the gift of spiritual freedom, for He knows that no one can be truly happy without the ability to choose. Like the younger son in the parable, we can decide to turn away from the Lord and waste the inheritance He has given us. Yet the Lord never gives up on anyone, and repentance has the power to overcome the barriers we construct.
When the prodigal son repented and humbly returned to his father, the father had compassion and ran to embrace him and to celebrate his return. So the Lord can forgive us when we make mistakes, if we acknowledge that what we have done is wrong and stop doing it. He responds to us with mercy rather than with anger or punishment, and He rejoices when we look to Him as our heavenly Father and follow His teachings.
Highlights for this month include
"The Prodigal Son" by the Rt. Rev. Thomas Kline
"The Lord Is Mercy Itself" by the Rev. Daniel Heinrichs
Picturing the Father and Son (PDF)
"I will lift up my hands..." (hand motions for Psalm 63:4, 5)(PDF)
The Circle of God's Love (PDF)
The Prodigal Son and His Brother (PDF)