A WARM WELCOME
A boy had a quarrel
with his parents and ran away from home. He had a hard life and spent several
years in a distant city without any contact with his family. Later he wanted to
return and reconcile with his family. But he was reluctant to return as he
feared that his parents and siblings may not welcome him.
After much meditation,
he sent a letter to his father expressing his desire to return home and begging
his pardon for deserting his family. In his letter he asked his father to tie a
white ribbon on the tree near his house by the side of the railway line if he was ready to welcome
him back to his home. He would then see the signal through the window of the
train, alight from the train at the next station and come home. He added that
if he did not see the ribbon on the tree, he would assume that his family did
not like his return and then he would go away from them forever.
He boarded the train as informed
and his tension grew tremendously as the train approached his native land. As
the train passed by his house, he could not believe his eyes. The tree was
fully decorated with hundreds of white ribbons which danced in the wind as if
to wave him welcome. This showed how much they longed for his return.
His loving family did
not want him to miss the sight of the ribbon, the signal of welcome. So they did
not limit to a single ribbon which he may fail to notice. They gladly covered
the whole tree with hundreds of ribbons to reflect their whole-hearted
happiness and willingness to welcome him back to their home.
God created man in
His image. He then instituted the 'family' in the image of heaven. The ideal
family is a heaven of happiness.
This incident
indicates the warm welcome a sinner receives when he repents and returns to
God. When we move one step towards God, He moves two steps towards us, eager to
embrace us. The loving father in the parable of the prodigal son {Luke 15: 11-32} is an image of the loving
God who showers His infinite affection on a repenting sinner.
Jesus said, " I tell you, the angels of God
rejoice over one sinner who repents" {Luke 15: 10}.
................................................................................................................................
© By:
Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science &
Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof.
Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's
College, Kanjirappally and Leo. S.
John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally,
Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
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