Running With Abandon

The father in the story of the prodigal son is our picture of Mature love. He runs with arms wide open, ready to embrace his son. It doesn’t matter to the father whether or not he looked silly while running towards his son. It doesn’t matter to the father if someone judges him for the outpouring of his love. It doesn’t matter to the father that the son, his son, came home smelling like pigs and sweat. What mattered was love being released. What mattered was embracing his commingled son with the joy of reunion and the possibility of restoration.

That’s it. That’s us.

That’s who we are invited to become.

Like the father, we run with abandon towards the good, the broken, and the future.

How beautiful!

We abandon any concerns about how we look in our celebration of the good. Maybe grace and mercy look foolish. Maybe forgiveness looks foolish. But mature love isn't worried about that. We aren’t trying to be religiously pious or academically elite. We don’t need approval or validation. Mature love is completely secure in its identity, so it can celebrate the good with abandon. We can dance and sing and rejoice and laugh.

We abandon any fear about personal loss or damage in our mourning of the broken. We aren’t going to be contaminated. We aren’t afraid of reputation or discomfort. The rushing river of Mature Love within us can’t be tempered with such fears. Mature love overflows with grief for that which is broken, so it chooses to be near to those who weep and those who mourn. Mourning can often mean wrestling with God. Mature love knows that embracing does not mean fixing the broken things. Embracing simply means the action of joining; suffering alongside. That is enough.

We abandon any pretense of control when we choose to participate in the future. Mature love doesn’t suppose it has the power to write history. Mature love simply trusts in the story that leads to redemption, wholeness, and shalom, then looks for ways to be a part of it. With imagination and vision, we speak to others about who they are and who they will become. Wherever there is a movement to set things right, we are there to participate.

Author: Zach Elliott

Zach Elliott describes himself as an ordinary man who loves Jesus. Anyone who knows Zach Elliott would describe him as far from ordinary. Zach began his career with Oregon State Police as a Forensic Evidence Technician, then served as a church planter and a pastor before launching V3, a ministry committed to sharing the Gospel and loving the Church. He is a husband, father, speaker, author, and thought leader, engaging the world with a powerful message of hope and restoration in Christ. He has a contagious love of life, finds beauty in the most unlikely places, and loves people with an uncommon depth of respect and honor.

This excerpt is quoted from Zach’s book, Now I See.