{"id":518,"date":"2020-06-11T23:58:51","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T21:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/?p=518"},"modified":"2021-03-01T05:48:09","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T04:48:09","slug":"the-fathers-embrace-so-run-to-him-shamelessly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/?p=518","title":{"rendered":"THE FATHER&#8217;S EMBRACE, SO RUN TO HIM SHAMELESSLY."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"THE FATHER&#039;S EMBRACE ~ RESTORATION BACK TO THE KINGDOM.\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LO6Zb-ZhAmU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>THE FATHER&#8217;S EMBRACE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Christine gives us insights into how it is so normal for the fathers in this generation to run to their children, but it was not the case in the olden days. We see that the father in the parable of the prodigal son was aware of the shame he was bringing to himself but he did not let this stop him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His eyes were fixed on the precious one returning home. He who was once lost was now found.  May we walk in the confidence that our father truly and deeply loves us with a love that is unconditional and even as we stray away, we are never far gone from His love. He is always on the lookout for our return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;..In the first century, however, a Middle Eastern man never \u2014 never \u2014 ran. If he were to run, he would have to hitch up his tunic so he would not trip. If he did this, it would show his bare legs. In that culture, it was humiliating and shameful for a man to show his bare legs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, here\u2019s the question: If it was shameful for a man to run in that culture, why did the father run when his son returned to him? What motivated him to shame himself? Before we answer that question, we have to understand an important first-century Jewish custom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kenneth Bailey, author of&nbsp;<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Cross-Prodigal-Through-Eastern-Peasants\/dp\/0830832815\">The Cross &amp; the Prodigal<\/a><\/em>, explains that if a Jewish son lost his inheritance among Gentiles, and then returned home, the community would perform a ceremony, called the&nbsp;<em>kezazah<\/em>. They would break a large pot in front of him and yell, \u201cYou are now cut off from your people!\u201d The community would totally reject him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, why did the father run? He probably ran in order to get to his son\u00a0<em>before<\/em>\u00a0he entered the village. The father runs \u2014 and shames himself \u2014 in an effort to get to his son before the community gets to him, so that his son does not experience the shame and humiliation of their taunting and rejection. The village would have followed the running father, would have witnessed what took place at the edge of the village between father and son. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After this emotional reuniting of the prodigal son with his father, it was clear that there would be no\u00a0<em>kezazah<\/em>\u00a0ceremony; there would be no rejecting this son \u2014\u00a0<em>despite what he has done<\/em>. The son had repented and returned to the father. The father had taken the full shame that should have fallen upon his son and clearly shown to the entire community that his son was welcome back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The amazing application for our own lives is crystal clear. Our heavenly Father has taken our shame through his Son, Jesus, who willingly endured the cross on our behalf. He took our sins\u2019 shame so that we would not have to. As a result, we can be forgiven, restored \u2014 accepted. We do not have to fear going home to our Father and confessing our sins, no matter what we have done, or how many times we have done it (remember, Jesus taught his followers to forgive 70 times seven).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the parable, only the father could restore the son to full sonship in the family. In our case, we are sinners, and there is nothing that we can do to restore our lost relationship with the Holy God of the Universe. He calls us and waits \u2014 a single repentant step in his direction, and he is off and&nbsp;<em>running<\/em>&nbsp;to welcome us back home!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only does God forgive us, but he takes upon himself our shame. He lifts off that weight that we carry on our shoulders for our past mistakes, and willingly wipes the slate clean once more. May we experience what the prodigal son encountered upon returning to the Father: \u201cBut while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him\u201d (Luke 15:20)&#8230;&#8221; In-depth commentary by <em>By Matt Williams<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/LO6Zb-ZhAmU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click here<\/a> to watch the video on youtube<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/103309875_262798888393632_5063974883641010707_n-1-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"THE FATHER'S EMBRACE\" class=\"wp-image-522\" width=\"111\" height=\"166\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/103309875_262798888393632_5063974883641010707_n-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/103309875_262798888393632_5063974883641010707_n-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/103309875_262798888393632_5063974883641010707_n-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/103309875_262798888393632_5063974883641010707_n-1-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/103309875_262798888393632_5063974883641010707_n-1-1080x1620.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/103309875_262798888393632_5063974883641010707_n-1.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 111px) 100vw, 111px\" \/><figcaption>Christine is a medical doctor by profession. When she is not hosting bible studies in her home, she will be found hosting large dinners for friends and baking. She and her husband are pastors at Damascus Road International Church in Maastricht. She is a mother two lovely boys.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Christine gives us insights into how it is so normal for the fathers in this generation to run to their children, but it was not the case in the olden days. We see that the father in the parable of the prodigal son was aware of the shame he was bringing to himself but he did not let this stop him. His eyes were fixed on the precious one returning home. He who was once lost was now found. May we walk in the confidence that our father truly and deeply loves us with a love that is unconditional and even as we stray away, we are never far gone from His love. He is always on the lookout for our return. &#8220;..In the first century, however, a Middle Eastern man never \u2014 never \u2014 ran. If he were to run, he would have to hitch up his tunic so he would not trip. If he did this, it would show his bare legs. In that culture, it was humiliating and shameful for a man to show his bare legs. So, here\u2019s the question: If it was shameful for a man to run in that culture, why did the father [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[125,22,48,129,124,128,127],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>THE FATHER&#039;S EMBRACE, SO RUN TO HIM SHAMELESSLY. - No Fear, Just Hope<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"no fear just hope is a platform to share God\u2019s truth, hope and love through topics that bring life, joy, awareness, comfort and hopefully some moments of laughter to you\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/?p=518\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"THE FATHER&#039;S EMBRACE, SO RUN TO HIM SHAMELESSLY. - No Fear, Just Hope\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"no fear just hope is a platform to share God\u2019s truth, hope and love through topics that bring life, joy, awareness, comfort and hopefully some moments of laughter to you\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/?p=518\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"No Fear, Just Hope\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=617458702&amp;ref=br_rs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-06-11T21:58:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-01T04:48:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/103309875_262798888393632_5063974883641010707_n-1-683x1024.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d239acef2601b4cf6aa929b63bd8d6c\",\"name\":\"Nelly\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6f421c4607dd9522c35dceaf1af00df?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6f421c4607dd9522c35dceaf1af00df?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Nelly\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nofearjusthope.com\/#personlogo\"},\"description\":\"My name is Nelly, I am married to an amazing husband , I am mother to an incredible daughter IJ and an angel Olivia Amali. 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