The Glory of a Grieving God: Part V

Both outcomes of rejoicing and grieving over the final outcome of the relationship between God and each of His most beloved creation manifest who God is throughout the Narrative of Finitude affirming that God is who He is. Such outcomes declare in a reverberating fashion the name of God given to His beloved, “I AM who I AM,” and consequently both equally bring glory to God’s namesake. The difference, however, lies in whether or not the beloved, which in this case is the prodigal son, has the occasion for sharing in this glory by becoming one who reflects who God is. This reflection occurs as the dialectical circle of love is made complete. This happens when the beloved becomes one who is unconditionally and sacrificially loving, and this reciprocal love is only aroused by the love of God (I Jn. 4:10, 12, 16-17, 19). Though such seeds of reciprocal love can only grow in the soil of a humble and repentant disposition. Only by letting go of one’s stubborn pride can one consciously and willingly be open to the unconditional and sacrificial love of God with the intent of believing in Him. This love of God is made contextually manifested to the beloved in works of loving that unconditionally remain intent on making right what has been made crooked by the unfaithfulness of the beloved. 

In regards to the prodigal son, this would have meant him repenting and positively responding to the father’s disposition of love that the father had perpetually manifested by his unconditional desire to make right their covenant via the possibility of reconciliation offered his faithful extension of merciful forgiveness. If he had returned his father’s self-sacrificial love with heartfelt sorrow and passionate commitment to become one with his father in the re-establishment of the covenantal relationship, then the son would have become open to the occasion of receiving the robe and the ring that signified that restoration of the covenant by the father’s act of sanctifying the son, setting him apart to fulfill the position correspond to being his faithful child. Yet to believe in such a self-emptying is a risk on the part of the son, for it appears to be an absurd proposition that seems too good to be true. Consequently, the son must believe in the actual self-emptying disposition of agape that his father unexpectedly displayed toward him, seeing as he reasonably and intuitively was previously convinced that since he had “sinned against heaven and against his father that he was no longer worthy to be called his son, and consequently expected to be treated like one of his father’s hired workers” (Lk. 15:18-19). 

The father’s merciful disposition that makes available the possibility of unmerited reconciliation manifests his identity as the Loving One who seeks to make right the gone-wrongness of the beloved and to maintain this righteousness via his work in sanctification, manifested by his response to his son’s authentic repentance and recommitment to faithfulness to the covenant. Thus, the merciful work of the father makes manifests the central character of his righteousness, as an unconditional disposition towards bringing about rectification, and in turn it is because of the father’s righteousness that the covenant is returned to its original state. This possibility for rectification to a state of righteousness is made available by an extension of the father’s unconditional openhanded offer of unmerited forgiveness, mercy, and grace. When the prodigal son had found the occasion for receiving these works of love resulted in the crooked son being set apart to be made right (sanctified) before his father. This occasion, which was always potentially available to him, became finally available to him in actuality when he was wholeheartedly willing to prostrate himself before his father in utter abandonment of his capacity to make right and repentant of his prideful endeavor to make right. 

The illustration of the prodigal son and his father’s disposition of agape illustrates the affectionate desire on the part of the Loving One to make right what has been made wrong in relation to covenant of the God-relationship that is the central theme of the infinite-finite dialogue, upon which all other themes rest. The absurdity of this disposition of our God is that it unconditionally holds true, even in spite of the fact that He is the offended party in the breaking of this covenant, seeing as it was the beloved who is the one solely responsible for transgressing the covenant. Because of our God’s faithfulness to this disposition of agape, we as his unfaithful children are given the merciful opportunity to abide in the His love and be loving as He is loving, an opportunity we in no way deserve. If this reconciliation sought after by God does, indeed, come to fruition the Loving One, then he rejoices as the beloved comes to share in the glory of manifesting the realities revolving around the namesake identifying who the Loving One is. This participation in contextually manifesting the glory of God is accomplished as the beloved inwardly and outwardly reflects the Agape-Phosnoumenos of God by being an instrument for this merciful grace and unconditional love being extended to others as part of the role in the contextual fulfillment of the righteousness of God. 

In returning once again to the parable of the prodigal son, let us focus this time focusing on what we can learn from the “faithful” son in this parable (Luke 15:25-32). This son can represent one who outwardly glorifies God by doing the will of God by external actions (externally obeying the law) but does not inwardly participate in the glory God. This lack of manifesting the glory of God through one’s inner life is due to an unloving disposition of duty that was rooted in hardheartedness. This disposition lacked agape that was primarily evident in the son’s deficiency of a redemptive righteousness that seeks to bring about unmerited reconciliation and rectification.  The son only displayed a vindictive righteousness that seeks to justly give a person their due reward or punishment, as his outer actions and words made manifest his pure indignation that boiled in his inner being that was devoid of godly jealousy, sorrow, forgiveness, mercy, or a desire for reconciliation. Such shallow obedience on the part of the brother was carried out for the sake of honoring and glorifying his father and the family name, and it was executed according to how the judgment of man determines how honor is given and glory is manifested. In his eyes it was just and fitting for him to stand up for his father’s wounded honor and the injustice inflicted upon him, as he viewed such injuries as detractions from the glory of his father and the family name. He viewed his father’s grief during the prodigal son’s absence as an embarrassing detraction from his father’s glory, and his redemptive righteous disposition towards making right as leaving his honor without vindication. Such an inward hardheartedness toward those who are perishing renders such an individual as one missing out on participating in the true glory and honor associated with God being Agape. 

Jesus said that to glorify God means to accomplish the works He has set out before us to accomplish. These godly deeds of righteousness are deeds that can only be done by abiding in the love of God that enables these deeds to be fueled by the saturation of the love of God being poured out in one’s heart that takes each thought of vindictive righteousness and makes it slave to the One who said, “forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Consequently, our lives are intended to become a living testimony to the agape that God is. A disposition of unconditional love for all is what truly glorifies God from eternity’s perspective and certainly not the manifestation of the so-called sanctified hedonism of God that hits far off the mark of the glory of the grieving God revealed in our guide. Manifesting God’s glory is not merely achieved by the external accomplishment of what God commands or wills that to various degrees reflect something about He is, for the complete manifestation of God’s glory is only revealed by the manifestation of the true substantial essence of God in human vessels that act like mirrors reflecting the image of the One who is Love.  When Agape-Phosnoumenos is contextually revealed throughout the narrative of finitude this brings finitude to a greater degree of manifesting the glory of God by becoming a reflection of the supercontextual realm of Infinite Reality, wherein the threefold self-emptying Agape-Phosnoumenos of God is all in all.