It is a subtle, easy to miss point in the parable of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11-35. Having left home, the son, having lost it all, decides to “arise and go to my father.” No doubt, practicing his speech along the way — “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no longer worthy to be called thy son.” The father sees him when he was “a great way off” and has every right to sit and wait right where he is and practice his own speech, the “you really screwed up” or “I told you so” speech – yet he does not. Instead he runs out to meet his son.
Pride often invites us to stand firm, smugly, in self-righteousness. Sometimes, often, that is exactly the right time to extend a hand toward or even move a step or two toward the other.
It occurs to me... 