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ND he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: (Luke 15:20-22)
The above text comes from the parable of the Prodigal Son. There may be more to those three verses than meets the eye. The son was a bona fide child of the father, born of his own blood. The fact that he had broken fellowship with the father did not annul that father/son relationship. No matter how far we may stray from our Father in Heaven, He keeps vigilance on His prodigal elect until they awaken to their sorry state and begin the journey home. The Father cares little concerning the distance we are away as long as their face is fixed on Him. In fact, He will run to meet them the moment they appear on the return trip to Him.
When we flee the presence of the Father, there will always be a great separation as in a far country to which we have fled. As we grow weary of the diet of slop and companionship of the swine of the world, we are made aware of our own depravity. Disgusted, we resolve to return to our Father and confess our sinful misadventure.
Smelling of the pigsty, dressed in the rags of the world, and malnourished in body and soul, we hobble home to God our Father. He has known of all about our foolish engagements in mammon, but now are returning. In spite of our filth and odorous condition, the Father runs to us and throws His arms around our soiled vesture. He orders the best robe to be placed on our shoulders, a ring for our hands, and shoes for our feet. There is great symbolism in those three items with which the Father endows us.
The Robe
or the prodigal son, the robe covered his filth. To those who have aposticised from faith in God, we are presented with a Robe of Righteousness purchased by the only Begotten Son of the Father and we are accounted an adopted son or daughter in the Family of God. “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10) In reality that Robe with which the redeemed are adorned was foreshadowed in the skin of the innocent animal whose life God took at Eden to cover the nakedness (sin) of our first parents.
The Ring
This ring was likely a signet ring representing the authority of the father granted to the son. The elect likewise share in that authority in Christ. “And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.” (Esther 8:2) In this transfer, King Xerxes of the Persians (Ahasuerus) granted authority to Mordecai. The same which God bestows upon His own sons and daughters who have believed and received the grace and mercy of the Lord.
The Shoes
The last adornment the repentant son receives from the father are shoes. What symbolism do we discover therein? In the days of Christ and the Roman Empire, when soldiers were defeated and made captive in battle, the first thing the enemy deprived them of was shoes (so they could not escape). We have all been captive of Satan before we received the grace and mercy of the lord, and our hearts made alive by the inner working of the Holy Ghost (see Ephesians 2). Though we may have believed we possessed free will, that was a delusion of the Adversary. No man whose soul is not redeemed has free will. That man’s will is in bondage to Satan since we can neither do nor will anything good apart from Christ working in us. The Father grants us freedom when we are received by Him.
Do you have a Robe of Righteousness, a Signet Ring, and Shoes of Liberty? No man is free without them.
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