John Paul enlarges on the reaction of the son's father, who welcomes him with unbounded merciful love, rather than a mere insistence on justice. "It becomes more evident that love is transformed into mercy when it is necessary to go beyond the precise norm of justice-precise and often too narrow." John Paul points out that the father's reaction is based on more than mere sentiment, but on a deeper understanding of what his son really needs: "Notice, the father is aware that a fundamental good has been saved: the good of his son's humanity. Although the son has squandered the inheritance, nevertheless his humanity is saved." The pope makes the point that this parable illustrates that mercy is best judged not from the mere externals, but from a deeper examination of what it does to the interior of man.