In his restless youth the prodigal looked upon his father as stern and severe. How different his conception of him now! So those who are deceived by Satan look upon God as hard and exacting. They regard Him as watching to denounce and condemn, as unwilling to receive the sinner so long as there is a legal excuse for not helping him. His law they regard as a restriction upon men's happiness, a burdensome yoke from which they are glad to escape. But he whose eyes have been opened by the love of Christ will behold God as full of compassion. He does not appear as a tyrannical, relentless being, but as a father longing to embrace his repenting son. The sinner will exclaim with the Psalmist, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him." Ps. 103:13.

I sin rastløse ungdomstid regnede den fortabte søn sin fader for at være streng og hård. Hvor forskellig var ikke hans mening om ham nu! Således mener også de, der er bedraget af Satan, at Gud er hård og streng. De betragter ham som en, der iagttager dem for at anklage og fordømme dem, og som er uvillig til at tage imod synderen, så længe der er en gyldig grund til ikke at hjælpe ham. Hans lov betragter de som en hindring for menneskenes lykke, et tungt åg, som de gerne vil være fri for Men den, der har fået øjnene op for Kristi kærlighed, vil se, at Gud er rig på medlidenhed. Han synes da ikke at være en ubarmhjertig tyran, men en fader der længes efter at tage sin angergivne søn i sin favn. Synderen vil udbryde ligesom salmisten: "Som en fader forbarmer sig over sine børn, forbarmer Herren sig over dem, der frygter ham."