Luke 15:11-31 is the only place that records the story of the Prodigal son.
There are three major players in this story: the younger son, the Father; and, the older brother. The younger son, full of talent and energy, is selfish instead of selfless. The Father, full of patience and longsuffering, is selfless instead of selfish. At the same time, the older son, faithful and hardworking, is selfish instead of selfless.
After squandering his inheritance, the younger son spends some time with the pigs.
When the younger son finally figured out he would be better off working for what remained of his Father’s estate, he started the journey home. Along the way, he concocted a speech in his mind, which he planned to give his Father upon arriving home.
Dad saw him first, and despite the filth and stench, ran and threw His arms around the son. The Father ignored His son’s carefully planned speech, meant to let Dad know the son was no longer worthy of being a son.
Here are three points I wish to communicate:
- The younger son was wrong when he said he was no longer worthy;
- The Father was right when He acted on the worthiness of His son; and,
- The older son was right by explaining why his brother didn’t deserve the treatment of a celebrity.
The difference between the Father and older son is their eyes.
We need to stop looking at ourselves and others through the eyes of humanity. When we do, we exhibit the same types of thoughts as the elder brother, which are humanly legitimate. But they are human thoughts, and we know God does not think like a human.
We must see through His eyes to further impact the church, the world, and those we love. Only then can we remove the critical, resentful, angry, and selfish thoughts. Instead, we can rejoice with heaven and recognize the worthiness of every sibling that Christ makes worthy. Including you. Including me. Thank you, Jesus!
You might also like these articles...
A Can Of Worms!
I have heard this term many times. A husband or wife may say, “Let’s not go there. That will open up ‘a can of worms.’” A parent may say, “I don’t want to open up that ‘can of worms.’ What do they mean? Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘a can of worms’ as “a situation that causes…
Another Take on 70 X 7
What do I mean by another take on 70 x 7? Forgiving, in theory, is not overly complicated. Forgiving in practice is not overly simplistic. It seems the Old Testament encouraged the practice of forgiving someone up to three times or maybe four. Fast forward to the New Testament, and Peter, remembering Jesus teaching the…
The BIBLE
One of the songs I learned growing up in Sunday school was “The BIBLE.” It goes like this: “The BIBLE, yes that’s the Book for me. I stand upon the Word of God, the BIBLE.” When we sang the word “BIBLE,” we would spell it out. It was great fun. The Psalmist had much to…