The Elder Son Luke 15:28-32

This story is so much more rich that I have ever understood. The elder son would have known that the day of the prodigal's return would have been the greatest day of the Father's life. As a matter of fact it would have been the responsibility of the elder son to the the key reconciler between the father and the rebellious son. What I have found is that a primary theme in the parable is distance from the father's heart. Keep in mind that over half of the parable is about the elder son. If the story were truly about the prodigal only, would not it have ended upon his return? The story is about 2 sons who both attack the unity of the family, and who are both alienated from the father.

We see the younger son doing things that put him in the lost category, Jesus however points out that the elder son is just as lost! So we sort of learn that there are two kinds of lostness.

As I was studying this it occured to be that perhaps we have misdefined something. The text says that the younger son went of to a "distant country" we have understood this to mean that he left his family and went far away. In other words, he was far from the father. We even say that in our own Christian culture do we not? We say, " Well , I was far from God" Of course usually this is said in the context of us being involved in ,

1. Sexual sin
2. Some other addiction
3. A religious search
4. Maybe just living for ourselves,

Whatever the case, most would agree that if one is involved in one of the aforementioned, he is "far from God"

I started thinking, and the time in my life when I was "sinning", this is not the time where I felt the furthest from God. Honestly, it was when I was choosing sin that I was most cognizant of His presence. Now mind-you , I was never as "far-off" as the prodigal son. For me, the time when I felt the furthest was when I was in seminary, preparing for ministry. This was the time when I was learning the Greek and Hebrew and the do's and don'ts of church life. This was a time in my life where everything I learned was used to judge those who did not know what I did. My faith and Christian walk felt the most mechanical and fake, rarely did I feel close to God. I share this because I believe we have misunderstood the idea of being "far from God" We are far from God when our hearts are distant. We are far from God when the father does not concern us. We are far from God when we have a bible in our hands, a backside in the pew, while at the same time our hearts have no concern with the things of God or a passion for His people. Its a little like loneliness, often times you feel the most alone when surrounded by hoards of people. Just because you are around Christians or just because you are in church, does not mean you are close to God or share His heart!

I Timothy 4:10

"To this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, especially of those who believe" I Timothy 4:10

Matthew Henry Writes in response, " The salvation He has in store for those who believe is sufficient to recompense them for all their services and sufferings"

A Quote !

I was reading an article today about John Calvin. In the article the writer, in explaining John's heart said something that we would do well to understand. This is how Calvin lived his life and what an example for us!

When Jesus told us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, He was not telling us: " Now when you go about your life, when you pursue your goals, don't forget the big picture. Don't lose sight of why you do what you do." Instead Jesus was telling us: "Seek this. Seek this alone. Forget about everything else. Have a single-minded passion and leave the rest alone. It is in hands anyway"

Does this characterize your life?

The Holy Spirit !

Evaluate these 2 statements:

1. You have no less of Jesus than the first disciples did. You just have Him in the person of the Holy Spirit.

2. You have as much spiritual power at your fingertips as the next believer. The question is what are you going to do with it!

Fish

I was reading for this week's sermon and came across a statement that really hit me. The quote reads, " God cleans the fish after He catches them", That may not seem all that profound, but it applies to our story of the lost son. Being found does not require that you get your act together and you change your life. In our story, it was the father who cleans up the son. In our lives, we simply need to " come to our senses" -- We need to be tired of ourselves and the world's way of doing things. At this point we are ready to be "found" by God and at this point He can start to make the changes He needs to.

Strange Thoughts

Is there anything we can do to be acceptable or accepted by God? It would seem that the answer would be yes. I mean there has to be something we can do that will invoke a positive response from God. What about good works. surely that will produce a pleased God. In studying the parable of the Prodigal son. I started to believe for a moment that there was something that just might earn a standing before God. The theme in the parable , as is in the two prior is that of repentance. I started to think that I had found the key to the reception of God. I quickly then realized that if there is anything that I can do or anything that I have to do to earn God's positive response then, this would reduce the unconditional love nature of our Holy God. In other words, if me doing something earns God's favor , then His favor is conditional. If His love and acceptance is conditional, then HIs motives are not pure. If His motives are not pure, then He is not a Holy Loving God. If He is not a Holy Loving God, then how could I trust anything He says, as I would always be left questioning His Motives. Here in lies the problem, we do not trust God, we do not trust His motives because we confuse Him with ourselves. This reality forces us to come up with ways to earn favor with God. Any earning of favor that is initiated by us is self-centered. Whew!! I almost bought into the idea that repentance earns our standing before God. For the inverse is the truth. God's love and open arms are what allows for us to repent and recieve the Love that is already there.