This is about a Father with four sons…
A Sailor.
A Driver.
A Flyer.
A Walker.
The Father provided richly for each of his sons. He gave them a home in which to flourish. He provided resources upon which to build their futures. He even saw to it that each was uniquely equipped and trained to succeed, according to his own natural bent.
Yet despite their obvious advantages, each son seemed convinced that there was more to life than living under the watchful, seemingly all-knowing gaze of his Father. Each seemed determined to find fulfillment on his own terms. And despite the obvious objections of the Father, each chose to go his own way.
The Sailor
The Sailor was the first to leave. He yearned for the open breezes and sense of freedom of being carried by the winds to faraway places. He longed to feel – to experience life, not just endure it. What he didn’t know, but would soon discover, is that the same winds that filled his sails could also toss him here and there in the midst of the storm.
The Father knew. But he also knew that arguing with his seagoing son was futile. And so he stood on the shore, his eyes gazing on the horizon, as his sailor son slipped past his Vanishing Point.
The Driver
Next came the Driver. This son yearned for the exhilaration of knowing he had achieved success and performed with excellence. He longed to choose – to have a sense of control over his outcomes. What he didn’t know, but would soon discover, is that the desire to be so in control can actually rob him of the ability to make any healthy choices whatsoever.
The Father knew. But he also knew that arguing with his driven son was futile. And so he stood on the curb, his eyes gazing down the street, as his driver son turned past his Vanishing Point.
The Flyer
Then came the Flyer. He was determined to soar above the clouds and live free of the shackles and chains of practical, earth-bound living. He longed to imagine – to create the life of his dreams, not settling for “reality” as defined by the mediocre majority or even the limitations of rules or laws. What he didn’t know, but would soon discover, is that the same imagination that creates a future universe of possibilities also creates a present world of self-deception and shame.
The Father knew. But he also knew that arguing with his soaring son was futile. And so he stood on the tarmac, his eyes gazing up into the clouds, as his flyer son ascended past the Vanishing Point.
The Walker
The Walker was the strangest son of all because to the untrained eye, he never left home at all. He built onto the Father’s house. He established operating manuals for the Father’s business. He seemed determined to “out-Father” the Father, and yearned to hear people say he looked just like his dad. What he didn’t know, and may never discover, is that doing work for the Father or imitating him is not the same as knowing the Father personally.
The Father knew. But he also knew that arguing with his self-righteous son was futile. And so he stood in the house, he eyes gazing at his busy boy as he furiously practices his vain imitation – all the way past the Vanishing Point.
The Search
Each of the four sons took his life in his own hands. Each, like sheep, went astray. One went the way of feeling. Another chose the path of the will. The third chased the life of the imagination. The fourth opted for harsh compliance. But regardless of the direction, each soon reached his Vanishing Point.
And that’s where the true adventure began.
Rather than brood over the hopeless disappearance of his four sons, the Father instead chose to enter their worlds – past their vanishing points – to redeem them back to himself again. The price would be excruciating. But the love that drove him was something he called “everlasting.”
He subjected himself to the feeling of one son’s weaknesses. He fought an epic battle of will for another. He endured being lied about, even as he reawakened the hunger for truth in the third. And he brought back life to dead law-keeping in the fourth.
And the result? He was despised. Rejected. His heart was broken. And get this – He was blamed for the four sons reaching their vanishing points in the first place – and he willingly took the blame.
How do you explain such a plan? How do you account for such a strategy? Here’s how the Father explained it in his own words:
The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness…” (Jeremiah 31:3).
The literal meaning of the Hebrew word for that kind of love: “from vanishing point to vanishing point.” From as far as you can see in the past to as far as you can see in the future, He has set His love upon you. From as far as you can see in the dregs of sin in one direction past as far as you can see in the pit of despair in another, He has loved us. Regardless of the direction you have taken, regardless of the direction in which you vanished, He has searched you, known you, and given Himself to redeem you.
But what good would it do to redeem a lost son if in the process there was no home to welcome him back to? What joy would there be in reconciliation if there were no living Father to reconcile with? What hope would there be for future generations if all we claimed as hope was a relic of the past? What love can be called “everlasting” if it lies buried in a borrowed tomb?
That’s where that unfailing kindness comes in.
With unfailing kindness He called His passionate failure to run to the grave – only to find His vanishing point.
With unfailing kindness He arrested His hard-charging nemesis and made the whole world and life as he knew it His vanishing point.
With unfailing kindness He ignited the imagination of His faithful to a vision and a promise of power from On High – just past His vanishing point.
With unfailing kindness He promised that if He went away He would come again to take His beloved home –
from Vanishing Point…
…to Vanishing Point.