04/13/2018
If you recall the parable of the prodigal Son it is easy to forget that there were two sons, the one who squandered his inheritance and yet was welcomed home, and the son who remained steadfastly at his father’s side. Which one of these best describes you? The prodigal son gives us hope in our Father’s love when we are lost, or are frivolous with our faith, but the dependable son never lost his inheritance and never left his father’s side. Who would you rather be? Who would the prodigal son have wanted to be as he travelled the road home?
“And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'"”
Luke 15:31-32 ESV
I look around me at church and there are many prodigal sons that have wandered off into the world, and have been welcomed back into the household of God. I give thanks for each of them, but there are also those who were in the church, and stayed faithful children all their lives; to them the Father says “all that is mine is yours.” What does that mean?
Not all prodigal children come home physically poor and destitute, but all of them come home impoverished in spirit. You see, the fortune and inheritance this scripture is alluding to is not made up of earthly treasure, but of spiritual property, gold, and gems. As Jesus tells this parable about a worldly event, He is actually telling us a heavenly story.
“And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.”
Luke 15:12-13 ESV
I knew a man who was in the church and walked with God. He prospered in his business, and began to pay more and more attention to it until one day he no longer graced his Father’s house. At first he did well and kept his faith intact, but there came a time when it was lost. Eventually trouble arose with one of his children, and he found that his Father was far away and he could no longer speak with Him as he once did; he could no longer ask for help and hear his father’s voice. He was lost and alone in the midst of many people. I know this man’s story well because he was me, and the road home was full of tears and remorse... yet the Father welcomed me.
I have a brother named Tommy who had stayed home in my story, and he had faithfully worked our Father’s field all the years that I was away, and God blessed him... his inheritance was that of the eldest son. When I arrived home and my Father’s servants were dressing me, and welcoming me, I have no idea what went on between Tommy and our Father regarding my return, but I can tell you this... once they had spoken Tommy placed his hands upon me and prayed for me and lifted up the trouble with my child. My brother welcomed me home, and our Father heard his voice, and my child was restored to me in the midst of many of our Father’s angels as they touched us both. That is how my story of the prodigal son ends; not just with my Father’s welcome, but with my brother’s embrace as well.
So if you stay home to do your Father’s bidding, and tend His fields while a brother or sister wanders astray and squanders their heavenly treasure, how will you react when they come home? It is easy to say that you will be glad to see them, at least until they actually return... How will you react when they are dressed in your Father’s finest robe, and what will you say when a feast is prepared for them? How will you feel when your Father embraces them as if they had never left? Will you act out in anger, or embrace them as a Tommy did me? Will you confront the Father in your disdain for them, or lift them up before Him? Who became the spiritual prodigal when the elder son lashed out in anger?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for welcoming your prodigal children home, and I also thank you for the love of your faithful children, who never wandered. When these wayward brothers and sisters return home I pray Father that you bolster our faith, and cause the love in us to well up as we greet them again, and give us your touch as we lay our hands upon them in prayers of thanksgiving. Never let us resent them Father, or become jealous of your attention as you heal them in that moment... show us your grace in their faces, and your comfort in their repose as they rest in your arms from an arduous journey of loss and realization. Protect us from the temptation of our own pride in faithfulness, and remind us of those times when we have strayed, or in the fact that but for your grace... there am I.
Holy Father your mercy abounds, and your grace is sufficient for us in the blood of your Son Jesus Christ. His hands are upon us as our sin and disappointment is cleansed, and we are welcomed home. Thank you Gracious Father for the passion of Christ, and the suffering that we endure as you lead us through it into a greater realization of our faith. Help us to greet one another with His same joy, and your open arms. You are full of grace Father, and your love and mercy run over us like a warm oil, fragrant, and sweet. Holy, Holy, Holy, art thou my Father, and your house is my comfort in eternity.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Psalms 23:6 ESV
Rich Forbes