“I was waiting for him,” says Our Father in His account of the soul that did not want to listen to Him and constantly offended Him with his way of life. This expresses the great waiting of Our heavenly Father for all people, whom He has destined for eternal communion with Him. He waits until we enter eternity, when we will never again stray from His side. Only then will the waiting be consummated in a feast of unshakeable joy. Sometimes in this life, we can experience a foretaste of this joy, but its fullness remains a promise.
Let’s pause here for a moment.
In this very moment, as we read or hear these words, Our Father is waiting for us. He wants us with Him in eternity, alongside all those who are already with Him. Even though we are on the right path and trying our best to walk it, there is still something pending: we have not reached our destination yet, and we do not know everything that awaits us.
However, Our Father knows. He knows His glory and the dwelling place His Son has prepared for us. God longs for the moment when we will settle there forever and share in His fullness. He waits for us every day until that time comes. Isn’t it very comforting and encouraging to know that we are heading toward our final encounter with God, Who is waiting for us?
Let us return to the story of the lost soul that the Father tells us about. What does He do while waiting for his return? He says:
“I waited for him, I followed him everywhere, I gave him more favors: health and wealth, that I caused to result from his work, to the point of superfluity. But he saw it all in the sad light of his vices, and his whole life was a fabric of errors because of habitual mortal sin. But My love never tired.”