Unearthly Love

Over the last few years, the subject of God's love has been recurring both in our small group studies and in my reading. Henri Nouwen's interpretation of Rembrandt's Prodigal Son shines light on the subject, as does Brennan Manning's teaching that Christian growth requires shedding false images of the Father. God is love, we know, but we are mistaken to think that His love is explained by earthly examples. It is, instead, an utterly strange love, one that builds on human metaphors but by necessity warps them to forms that are utterly mind bending. In the parable of the workers in the field, some work all day and some for just a few hours, but all get paid the same. This is no domestic calculus; it's too odd. Though we ask why the farmer pays alike (or, equivalently, wildly different hourly wages) in the end the rationale is beyond our comprehension. The same conclusion applies to the parable of the prodigal son. The father loves his renegade son lavishly with a robe, a ring, and a fatted calf. Can we honestly imagine a human father responding in this manner? No--the love of God is inscrutable beyond quantum mechanics. It's way past the limits of cerebral cortex.