Nouwen when studying Rembrandt's painting of the returning prodigal son saw himself as that son. Every time he looks at how the world values him rather than how God sees him, he rejects his spiritual journey for a worldly one and denies his sonship because he can't comprehend the notion of unconditional love. Surely God's grace must be earned and dependent on his own actions.

Nouwen turns his back on the embrace we see between the father and son in Rembrandt’s painting because “one of the greatest challenges of the spiritual life is to receive God’s forgiveness.

Can it be as simple as turning around to face the Christ and seek His loving, forgiving embrace? There is no other way by which we can be saved....

Reconciliation is found in only one place, and that is at the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. God will meet you there; He has chosen to meet us not in a church or corps, or holy institution, or a shrine but at the cross. Only there can you be reconciled to the Father.

How do you get there? By faith. The Bible promises that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.

"He breaks the power of cancelled sin, He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood avails for me."

As we let the blood of Jesus cleanse us through our asking for forgiveness we can stand confidently in God's presence.

Remember that not only did Jesus die on the cross and was buried, but He rose again on the third day and He is alive today to save all who come to Him.

The way that Jesus reconciles us to God is beautifully illustrated by a true story of a happy little family of father, mother and daughter.

One day the parents had an argument, as a result of which the father walked out and did not come back. His wife and daughter missed him terribly but as they did not know where he was, they struggled on as best as they could without him. Then the daughter became ill, and the doctor had to tell her mother that there was no cure for her condition; she had only a few days to live. The little girl's greatest wish was to see her daddy again, so her mother had an SOS appeal out on the radio. At first there was no response.

By now the little girl was unconscious in a coma for much of the time but now and again she would open her eyes and ask for daddy. It seemed he would never come and the end was very near. The grandparents had arrived and were gathered around the bed with the mother when at last, a step was heard on the stairs. A moment later, the father entered the room and rushed over to the bed. The girl opened her eyes and put her Daddy's hand in hers. Then with great effort, she took her Mother's hand, put it into her father's hand, and died; in that dying act her parents were reconciled. This is a vivid picture of what Jesus did on the cross, when He took the sin stained hand of man and placed it in His Father's hand of love, thus reconciling man with God.

RECONCILIATION; the most beautiful word in any language - in heaven and on earth.




Dr. Sven Ljungholm
Hamilton Temple Corps, Scotland.