Celebration

From the parable of the Lost Son: But the father said to his servants, "Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." And they began to be merry. Luke 15:22-24

"What, exactly, was this party celebrating?...This was about the sheer joy of redemption. In effect, the celebration was really in honor of the father's goodness to his undeserving son. The father is rejoicing not because the son has somehow managed to do something to earn his favor (the boy really hadn't done anything truly praiseworthy). But the father was rejoicing because he now had the long-awaited opportunity to forgive and restore the son who had so badly dishonored him and brought him so much grief. In other words, the celebration here is for the father's sake, not the son's. The feast in effect honors the father. It was the father who gave this boy back his life and his privileges. It was the father who forgave him, restored him to sonship, gave him true liberty, and showered him with tokens of love. So this father, who apparently felt no shame, threw a party so that he could share the joy of his own kindness with everyone. That kind of joy is infectious, exhilarating, refreshing, and full of glory...That's what heaven's joy is all about. It is the eternal celebration of the extravagant grace of a loving Father to penitent, believing, but altogether unworthy sinners."

~taken from A Tale of Two Sons by John MacArthur, p. 140