He had disgraced his family and dishonored his father’s name. He had come to Bangkok to escape the dullness of village life. He had found excitement, and while he prospered in his sordid lifestyle he had found popularity as well.

When he first arrived, he had visited a hotel unlike he had ever seen before. In each of the hotel rooms were teenage girls. Some as young as 12 years old and younger. Some of the girls were laughing and some looked nervous and scared.

That visit began Sawat’s venture into Bangkok’s world of prostitution. It began innocently enough, but he was quickly caught like a small piece of wood in a raging river. It’s force was too powerful and swift for him, the current too strong.

Soon he was selling opium to customers and propositioning tourists in the hotels. He even went so low as to actually help buy and sell young girls, some of them only 9 and 10 years old. It was a nasty business, and he was one of the most important of the young “businessmen.”

Then the bottom dropped out of his world: He hit a string of bad luck. He was robbed, and while trying to climb back to the top, he was arrested. The word went out in the underworld that he was a police spy. He finally ended up living in a shanty by the city trash pile.

Sitting in his little shack, he thought about his family, especially his father, a simple Christian man from a small southern village near the Malaysian border. He remembered his dad’s parting words: “I am waiting for you.” He wondered whether his father would still be waiting for him after all that he had done to dishonor the family name. Would he be welcome in his home? Word of Sawat’s lifestyle had long ago filtered back to the village.

Finally he devised a plan.

“Dear Father,” he wrote, “I wanted to come home, but I don’t know if you will receive me after all I have done. I have sinned greatly, father. Please forgive me. On Saturday night I will be on the train that goes through our village. If you are still waiting for me, will you tie a piece of cloth on the poe tree in front of our house? (Signed ) Sawat.”

On that train ride he reflected on his life over the past few months and knew that his father had every right to deny him. As the train finally neared the village, he churned with anxiety. What would he do if there was no cloth on the po tree?

Sitting opposite him was a kind stranger who noticed how nervous his fellow passenger had become. Finally Sawat could stand the pressure no longer. He blurted out his story in a torrent of words. As they entered the village, Sawat said, “Oh, sir, I cannot bear to look. Can you watch for me? What if my father will not receive me back?”

Sawat buried his face between his knees. “Do you see it, sir? It’s the only house with a po tree.”

“Young man, your father did not hang just one piece of cloth. Look! He has covered the whole tree with cloth!” Sawat could hardly believe his eyes. The branches were laden with tiny white squares. In the front yard his old father jumped up and down, joyously waving a piece of white cloth, then ran in halting steps beside the train. When it stopped at the little station he threw his arms around his son, embracing him with tears of joy. “Ive been waiting for you!” he exclaimed.

(Floyd McClung - The Father Heart of God)

It is this sort of GRACE, MERCY, and FORGIVENESS that inspires and motivates me to love and follow our Lord. God has shown me through the study of His Word over the past few years that LOVE=OBEDIENCE. Throughout the Bible there are many verses eluding to this idea.

John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me….

John 14:23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching….”

John 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

1 John 2:3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey His commands.

1 John 2:6 Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.

I believe that people who fall in love with the Father and have a revelation of His GRACE will not want to live in sin. Because they have experienced the joy of the Treasure, they’ll want to forsake lesser lovers for the supreme Lover of their hearts. They won’t want to hurt or grieve Him (Psalm 51:4). Even in our natural relationships, we don’t want to do things that would hurt or disappoint the ones we love. Our motivation for pleasing them is our love for them, just as our love for our heavenly Father should be the motivation for pleasing Him.

I believe that when the Church becomes lovesick through a revelation of the Father’s love, we will see the Church emerge in all the power and glory God intended it to have. Believers will be brought out of their boredom and lukewarmness and awakened to fervency and radical commitment.

This is why I believe that LOVE=OBEDIENCE in our walks with God. When we understand the incredible sacrificial love of God, how could we want to do anything but love him back and OBEY.

We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19

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