Jesus did much of his teaching by telling stories. He knew how to reach people where they lived, and what moved their hearts. This is one of His best. The Parable of the Prodigal Son And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. Luke 15:11-32 There have been many teachings on this familiar story. Most of them centered on the two son's. The foolishness of the younger, and the sullen angry older son. However, I've observed several things about the Father in this story that I believe are quite interesting, and we can glean much wisdom from them.
⦁ 1. The Father did not dispute with the son when he demanded his share of the inheritance. There is no mention of him trying to talk the son out of what he wanted. It merely says " and he divided unto them his living." ⦁ 2. He did not follow the son; he freely let him go. Sometimes we have to let go of people. If they are bent on going down the wrong road, we cannot force them to change. Sometimes they have to learn the hard way. God will not conform to us in our sin-we must conform to Him through repentance and a contrite heart in order to have a deep relationship with Him; and restoration of our souls. ⦁ 3. When the son came to his senses and decided to go back home-even when he was still a "great way off" his father saw him and had compassion, running to meet him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. His father never gave up on hoping his son would come home. Though he did not follow him-he did keep watch from his own boundary, looking to see if he would come back. We should never give up on those who are astray. Prayer can change things, and circumstances. Corrie Ten Boom has said "No matter how deep we go in sin-God's love goes deeper still." Interjection: For some of us who have totally ruined our lives; either by drugs, alcohol, sexual abuse, or all of the above; I believe we have had the experience of knowing the flow of forgiveness and love of God and it is at times overwhelming, and words are unable to express the power of it. In my own life-during the first months after my salvation there were many moments alone when the presence and love of God was so real and powerful, that all I could do was weep, and allow Him to hold me. Words could not come while my soul was being held by Him-I believe this son experienced this also as he wept in his father's arms, held firmly in his warm embrace. Here we can see love "spirit to spirit." As we continue to walk out this life with it's sorrows and hardships, even after we have known the Lord for many years; I've found there are times when all I can do is let Him hold me, words won't come, He understands-and doesn't expect me to say anything. The work He is doing in my soul and spirit need no words. This is what He desires to do for all of us, He can and will carry us thru if we will let Him. ⦁ 4. The son is so convicted of his behavior and conduct he is willing to become one of his father's hired servants-he doesn't consider himself worthy of being his son. But the father would not consider this-he is his son forever-and now is restored. ⦁ 5. The father never brings up to the son all that was squandered by him. Everything the son misused and threw away was restored. The father showed no anger, resentment, or unforgiveness. His response was a celebration. This is the same response we see in the parable of the lost sheep. The shepherd comes home rejoicing; for he had found his sheep-which had been lost ⦁ 6. The father did not go to the older son to ask for his approval, or opinion on the issue. Many times when a wayward soul comes back to God; the "pious, righteous" ones seem to think they should be consulted on how to "restore the wayward back into the flock". Any person turning back to the Lord needs no one else's approval or consultation. The whole issue is between him/her and God alone. Ps. 51:4 ⦁ 7. The father did take time and had compassion on the older son-he went out to him and tried to reason with him, to try to restore the family relationship. There are similarities to this story and the story of Jonah. The heavenly Father takes special time to go out to the sullen prophet-and reminds him of the importance of forgiveness and mercy to the repentant people of Nineveh. In the story of Jonah, the Lord intreats the prophet as he sat under the hot sun, angry because God spared the people. Here also we see the example of the "pious righteous" spirit of one who feels the wicked people of the city should pay for their sins. Restoration and forgiveness was not on Johah's mind-but vengeance and judgment. The word of God teaches there is a time, and place for God's judgments, and he has had prophets warn of judgments to come-but, the prophet is not to be that instrument, he is only a watchman, and a messenger. But, this is another teaching for another time. As we see the conduct of the father in the story of the prodigal son, we get a clear picture what our attitude should be. We see in the actions of the Father, all the attributes and fruit of the Spirit exhibited; (Gal. 5:22,23) which are: love, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, joy. Here we are shown by example how the fruits of the Spirit are played out in a very difficult family relationship problem. Jesus is giving a wide scope of problem solving solutions in this story; as well as giving a teaching that could go down many roads. But, the main point I want to bring out tonight is The Father's exemplifying the fruits of the Spirit here, gives us a glimpse of what Paul is speaking about in Galatian's ch. 5:22,23. If we cultivate and develop these attributes in our lives; as Paul says "against such there is no law." A review of the important lessons here are: Some people are bent on sin-and we must let them go if they won't listen. But, we can continue to pray, and watch for them; hoping they will return. When we see true repentance-be quick to forgive and don't harbor resentment. Mercy is God's way. As for the righteous pious ones-remind them gently of God's mercy and grace on THEIR lives, that their sins and faults lay bare before God also; who freely forgave THEM. We need to remind ourselves regularly that our souls only have redemption and the promise of one of those mansions Jesus talks about in heaven because of the great sacrifice Jesus paid on the cross for us "when we were yet sinners". And, the Father's great love for us-his patience in waiting for us to come home from the pig sty we've been in. When we returned, didn't we find His love and forgiveness almost unbelievable? His presence and peace more than we ever deserved? Indeed, any lost wretched soul who comes to Him, is cradled in His arms. The tears, the heartache, sorrow, regrets, are healed as He continues to hold us and restore us. He not only restores, he plants us in His fields, so we can have the honor of working with Him, rescuing other's who were like us. He trusts us to work along side Him in His kingdom to bring in a harvest of souls with the same broken lives and hearts that we had before we knew Him. He grants us honors and privileges-as though we had never sinned. Only God can do this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Lorna Couillard 2007 teaching for Teen Challenge Comments are closed.
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May you find a source of sound spiritual food for your soul and spirit here. Jesus Christ is Lord Rev 12:11
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth. Psalm 138:2-4 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
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December 2024
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