If you read the story in Luke 15:11-32, you will find a young man full of selfishness, greed and irresponsibility born of a graceful father. The father in the story shows an image of God and his response to sin. It starts out with an obvious knowledge that there was something to be had. There was a wealthy inheritance to be divided among the two young men. The eldest one replicates a life of responsibility, patience and a pretty well rounded idea of what was good for him. It appears that his half of the inheritance had already been invested for good and greater things. The younger son was eager to have his share. I can just imagine how excited he was just thinking about all of the money that his father would give him. He was probably in his room packing as he was thinking about all of the things he would buy, all of the parties he would go to and all the self loathing he would do. Meanwhile, his father is gathering the young one's inheritance. He was probably questioning himself "should I do this? I don't know if I should do this. Maybe I should refuse to give him his half of the estate until I feel he is responsible enough". But he does something that is hard for all of us parents to do. While realizing that he could only hold onto his son so much, that he could only control very little at this point...he gives over the inheritance. He had to give his son the freedom to make mistakes and to learn from them. He hoped for the best but was uneasy at what might be the worst.
His son went out and lived it up lavishly. As you read on in the story, the money runs out, the "friends" fade away, the partying stops...and soon he has a need to work to fill his stomach. Now that he had nothing...everyone looked at him as nothing. The guy he probably got drunk with the night before had nothing better for him to do than to work with his pigs. As he starved, the people he once relied on for a good time would not even give him anything to eat!!
So the young son is working in the mud pits with a growling stomach and begins to wonder...."what am I doing here? I am such an idiot!!! The people that work for my own father have it better off than me and I threw everything away to lay in the mud with the pigs!" He probably reminisced over how life used to be and how good he had it. Something began to change in him. His sinful lifestyle had exhausted him and left him ashamed. He had self acknowledgement that he had sinned against his father and against God.
So he came up with plan. He decided he was going to go home and make peace with his father. There was no reasoning as to what he should say to his father. It was simple for him.There were no excuses or justifications for his actions. Just pure and simple recognition of his sin, and his need for forgiveness. He picked himself up and went home to meet his father. In his mind he must have imagined that he would walk down the long path that led to his fathers house and that he would have to initiate the greeting between him and his father. He must have thought that he would have to beg for forgiveness and a helping hand. He probably went as far to fear that his father might just reject him because of his sinful ways. But,pay close attention to hat happens next. Take a second to help me set of the scene in modern times. The father is sitting on the porch. Its hot, and bright from the sun. He sees someone,almost like a mirage, walking down the long path to the house. He stands up in disbelief and unsure doubt that this person walking his way just might be his long lost son. He realizes it is his wayward son!!!
In verse 20 it says "when he saw him, he was filled with compassion for him". Sometimes our idea of forgiveness is when we encounter someone for the first time in a long time who has wronged us,we wait to see what their reaction is because we know that the sin they committed had to have instantly come to mind when being graced with our presence! We wait for the apology before we are willing to converse about anything else. But that is not the case in this story. He did not wait for his son to apologize. He did not wait for his son to explain decisions before reaching out his arms to him. If you want to to know what I think...I think the father forgave his son long before this sudden encounter. because it as upon seeing his son that he felt compassion. He didn't have to think about what his reaction would be. He was not worried about trying to play it off. He did not have to gather his thoughts before meeting him face to face. He was filled with immediate goodness. It was the recognition of sin, the heartfelt repentance and desired recompense that instantly began to heal their wounded relationship. But it was the natural love of the father that put all of the pieces of his sons life back together.
So he sees his son from a good distance, he is filled with all goodness and compassion for his son. I can imagine he must have either got teary eyed or started crying! But he does not wait for his son to reach him. Yet, he takes off running after his son. His son must have been excited, confused and deeply touched to receive such a forgiving welcome. But he soaks it all in as his father wraps his arms around him despite the possibility that he might have been covered in dried mud and that he smelled like the bad end of a pig! He kissed his dirty face and welcomed him home. But the prodigal would not have any peace if he did not tell his father exactly hat he intended to say. He says "Father, I have sinned against God and I have sinned against you. I do not deserve to be called your son" (The Message). And here is where we see a sad view of what he thought of himself. He felt so unworthy of his fathers grace. He had a hard time comprehending his fathers forgiveness towards him. In his mind he was a disgrace, he was shamed. His actions were inappropriate beyond repair and his deeds were inexcusable. He was so down on himself that he could not even lift his head. His eyes were so full of tears that he could not see. He offers his father a proposition by asking him to hire him as one of his servants, to repay him for the pain he caused. In reading the fathers response, I would say it went much like this..." 'Are you kidding!', he says with a laugh. Don't be ridiculous!' ". So he throws his arm around his sons neck and leads him up the path to the house while telling his servants "Bring the best robe and a ring to put on his finger and sandals for his feet! get the fattest calf so we can feast and celebrate! For my son has returned home!"
Verse 24 says "he was dead and now he is alive". What an amazing recognition of his son's repentance! He did not shrug off his son's contriteness to forget about the past and move on. But he accepted it because he knew his son meant it. He made known his son's decision to be dead in sin, but praised the 180 buy now exclaiming that his son is now dead to sin and is alive again!
There is another part of recognition here. The oldest son heard of his brother coming home and the great celebration that was about to take place because of it and he became angry and resentful. His father pleads with him to be just as he was towards his rebel kin and to join them in this joyous occasion....but I can see where the eldest son felt preceded and unrecognized. He felt left out and wanted to know from his father why his brother receives this big celebration while he seems to have no credit for his faithfulness, trustworthiness and hard work. But his father reassures him that everything he owns is no his. He assured his son that because of his faithfulness to him that he is his right hand man. But he also tries to get his older son to understand the great transformation that took place....and that is always something to be celebrated. Although the father knew that the trust would have to be rebuilt, he knew that forgiveness was key to their relationship and mending their family.
The example of the father's grace towards his son was not so great that it lessened the severity of his sin. When it comes to sin it is very important to remember that it is never about hate or pointing fingers. It is about the effectiveness of the gospel and love for the person in sin. It is also about the compromise of sin. Looking at the story of the prodigal son, it is so captivating to open our arms as God does, which is pictured by the father in this story. But here is the condition that makes this story so great. It is the penitence and the sorrow over his sin. He did not bring his sin home with him with an "accept me as I am or don't" attitude. It does not matter how long he was away in his life of sin, the moral of the story and the force behind it's atonement is that he realizes the severity of his mistakes and leaves them behind him in the pig pen. he then comes back and does not even expect to be given the same position he had when he left.. And yet we see the effectiveness and meaning behind God's love and forgiveness because he is given everything back and plus some.
Don't miss the point that he new the importance before hand of repenting, lamenting or being sorrowful for his sin. Its urged that we as Christians embrace the world with loving arms, but that we do not go soft and compromise when it comes to the matter of sin. Truth remains and cannot be changed. And sometimes its fact is harsh and should not be compromised.
As you go through the bible you will come upon many stories of Jesus or God calling people out of their sin. They came out of it with all seriousness and did not return to their sin. It's one thing to recall your life and how you lived it in comparison to your redeemed life currently to give praise to God for it. But it is another to look back on sin wishing you were still in it. When Jesus called Mary Magdalene and the women at the well out of their lives of dirt and prostitution, they left their old life behind them.
It is so important to stand up for the truth in love. Speaking of the women at the well (John 4:1-42), she did not even know Jesus. This was their first interaction. But Jesus met her where she was in her life at that moment, an adulterer...a whore if you will. And he spoke to her about her conduction in life. He knew it all and forgave her. He did not lessen the severity of her sin, but called it for what it was. He said "Now, go and get your husband". The woman replied "but I don't have a husband". Jesus already knew this. He exclaimed, "I know you are trying to make yourself look better, but you have had 5 husbands and the man you are with now is not your husband.". He brought her to the place of recognition and love with a lack of judgement.
God's arms are open wide for anyone who will come to him, and we praise Him for that. But that only comes by repentance without justification. It is NOT holding on to sin hoping that God will change his mind or misconstrue the definition of sin. His opinion of Sin is not as minor as our opinions of whether we like bacon or not. Romans 1:18-19 says "But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is!" (The Message).
When we give our lives over to Christ, our sin no longer holds us captive. We are freed due to the redemption of Jesus Christ. It is by His grace that we receive the remission of sins and are still loved by home and taken in as children of God. We receive a new identity as well as an abundance from his inheritance. What we have done before does not change who we are before the eyes of God. We were once deemed unfit, unjust and unworthy. But he has held us up. He has made us worthy.
Philips, Craig & Dean:
When God Ran
No comments:
Post a Comment