Jump Start # 882

Luke 15:28 “But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him”

Any study of the parable of the prodigal son must include not just the prodigal and the father, but the older brother. This is a key part of this story. The father actually had two lost sons. One was lost in the far country and the other was lost at home. The prodigal came to his senses and realized he was lost and needed to come home. The older brother never came to his senses. The older brother represents the Pharisees who were critical of Jesus for eating with sinners. They avoided and shunned such people. Jesus accepted and welcomed them. Jesus acted like the father. The Pharisees acted like the older brother.

The older brother acts like many Christians. His words and actions reflect jealously, bitter feelings and a resentment towards the prodigal. Notice what the context shares with us:

• He was angry
• He refused to go in
• He complained to the father
• He felt cheated and neglected
• He refused to acknowledge a relationship with the prodigal. He called him, ‘Your son,’ not ‘my brother.’

The same father that ran out to the prodigal, must now leave the celebration and the feasting to go out and talk to the elder brother. I feel for that father. Both of his sons have issues. Neither of his sons act like he does. The older brother feels sorry for himself. He makes a great contrast in the way he has been treated. He claims he never got a young goat to celebrate with his friends, but the prodigal got the fattened calf. Goat and calf—big difference.

The older brother failed to count his blessings. He failed to see the rich relationship that he had with the father. The very thing that brought the prodigal home, the elder brother had, but didn’t appreciate.

The Pharisees had a deep love for the law of God. They had twisted their traditions and sprinkled their opinions through all of their faith, yet they grasped righteousness, law, authority and God. The sinners, whom Jesus was associating with, trashed God’s law. They disregarded the authority of God. They walked where the prodigal walked. The Pharisees, like the older brother in this parable, ought to have a great love for God. Instead, they felt cheated. They felt wronged. They could not do what Jesus was doing. They had no place for repentant sinners. Their way was to avoid, exclude and reject.

The same grace that the prodigal received, had been given to the elder brother. He lived with the blessings of the father. The father said, “all that is mine is yours.” The love, acceptance, comfort and security of home was there for the older brother, except he didn’t enjoy them. He wanted them and no one else, especially this rebel brother of his, to have the same. It didn’t seem fair, nor right to him.

There is a huge lesson for us. I see far too many walking in the steps of the older brother. For some reason, those who have been given grace and a second chance by God have a hard time extending that to others. We need God’s love and grace. But when others have trashed their lives, we want to throw the book at them. Why?

Remember Jonah? That’s where he stood. He was glad God didn’t let the whale digest him. Yet he still had a hard time giving Nineveh a second chance. Why? Remember the parable about the servant who was forgiven of a debt of 10,000 talents? His master felt compassion and released him from that debt. This same servant turned to a fellow servant who owed just a little bit, and beat him. Why could he not extend grace? He had been given grace.

We can be like this more than we want to admit. A young person acknowledges mistakes and sins in their life and instead of tears of joy and hugs, there are looks and whispers. The talk becomes gossip and we find ourselves standing outside the house with the older brother. He has a lot in common with many of us. We don’t like to see others getting attention after they have messed up. We don’t like to see grace for them. Throw them out. Lecture them. Throw the book at them. That would make many of us happy. But when there is a ring, robe, sandals and a celebration, we get bitter and grumpy and find ourselves outside the house.

The older brother refused to acknowledge a fellowship that God included. He would not claim the prodigal as a family member. That narrow, hateful and mean spirit is the very reason why some prodigals do not come home. They would, but they know how they would be treated. Could some of us be responsible for some staying away from God? Might we be the reason that a bridge cannot be built with God? Prodigals know the looks, the whispers, the gossip. They already feel bad. The church will only make them feel worse.

Shame on us for being like that. Shame on the older brother. Shame on the Pharisees. Every time a prodigal comes home we have the choice to act like the father or to be the older, obnoxious brother. Which will it be?

We are not told in this story if the older brother every got it. We don’t know if he went into the house. We wonder what he said to the prodigal the next day. Would their relationships be strained forever? You’d hope that the goodness of the father would rub off on them. It’s something that they would have to choose.

Two final thoughts:

1. Don’t let older brothers keep you from doing right. Don’t let the whispers, the looks, the attitudes of others keep you from God and Heaven. Many returning prodigals are closer to the father than those who have been at home all the time. Many church members may find out some day that they are not as saved as they think they are. I’ve seen the hurt that prodigals feel from those who ought to be embracing them. It angers me. It’s so wrong. Don’t let anyone keep you from Heaven. Don’t let a preacher keep you from Heaven. Don’t let a church keep you from Heaven. Don’t let yourself keep you from Heaven. Home with God is where you need to be. Recognize your mistakes. Come home a changed and different person. Your Father is looking for you every day. Home is where you need to be.

2. Let us never forget that all of us have been prodigals in our life. All of us have sinned. All of us have fallen short. Step up and be the forgiving one to the prodigals in church and in your family. Look for them and run out to them. Embrace them. Let them know that they are loved. The older brothers around you may frown upon what you do. They may talk about you as well as the prodigal. They may not come around if you have the prodigal in your home. So be it. It is their loss. You do what is right. You follow the example of Jesus. They accused Jesus. He kept on doing what is right. They wanted Jesus to shun the sinners. Jesus wouldn’t do that. They wanted Jesus to be like they were. He wouldn’t do that. The prodigals need people who will accept them and forgive them. They need someone who shows that they care. They need someone who will give a celebration. Can you do that? Can you overcome the attitudes around you and do what is right?

This ends our look at the prodigal son. We are in that story. It is our story. It is how God treats us, forgives us and loves us. God is good. God is forgiving. God can make right of the messes we have made. The prodigal son is a picture of God. This is what God looks like.

I will be putting this series together in a booklet. If you would like a free copy, email me at, Rogshouse@aol.com

Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to come back home to you!

Roger

Jump Start # 881

Luke 15:23 “and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate”

Our thoughts continue on the parable of the prodigal son. This is a parable, not a true story. As in all parables, there is one or two central themes. Not every rock, every bird, every pig is intended to mean or symbolize something grander than what they are. Folks can read too much into the parable. I’ve heard of some telling this story with many added things that Jesus never said, such as, mention of the prodigal’s mother, the occupation of the father, the name of the older brother. Another very popular trend today among many writers is the need to tell their own prodigal story. They will begin with what Jesus said, and then spend most of the book telling their own sad tale of sin and departure. Do we not feel that the Lord’s story works? Must I have my story to what Jesus said?

Having said all this, there is one thing that we need to consider. It is not mentioned in this story but it is an important aspect of coming home and repentance. What happens the next day? What happens after the celebration? What happens after the music stops, the feast has been eaten and everyone returns home? What happens the next day?

The next day, the prodigal woke up with the same father in the house. The father that he ran away from. He woke up with the same older brother in the house. He woke up with the same chores and work that he was expected to do. I don’t see in this story that the father loosened up on the rules or that the older brother suddenly became a charming and caring sibling. I don’t see that. If the prodigal left because he didn’t like life at home, what will keep him there now?

This is true for prodigals today. If a couple separates because the marriage isn’t healthy and then after a while they reunite, what will keep them together? If nothing has changed, won’t they separate again? If a person leaves the church because he thinks it is dull and not working for him, and then returns, what will keep him there?

Coming home is a great lesson that needs to be preached. But another just as important lesson is staying home once you have returned. Thought needs to be given to this subject. A prodigal returns and feels that nothing is different, he will leave again and often for good this time.

Is this to say that the father had to change to keep the prodigal home? No. What changed was the prodigal. His way of thinking changed. How he saw his father changed. What he took for granted changed. He came home, but things were not the same. He was changed. It was more than simply being sorry for his sins, his thinking changed. This is what would keep him home.

God’s word cannot change. It is not the place for prodigals to come home and expect and even demand that everyone change or else they will leave again. The threats to leave indicate that the prodigal hasn’t changed. It is the prodigal, not the father who needed changing.

The next day is an interesting thought. How he viewed life would be different. He has seen where pigs live. I expect the Jewish father and older brother had never been around pigs before. They were considered unclean and unfit for Jewish people. The prodigal had seen them. He was right with them. He was feeding them. He wanted to eat what they were eating.  He knew…just as the addict knows…just as the one released from prison knows…just as the one withdrawn from the church knows. Your thinking changes. You see things from the perspective of others. You realize that they were right all along. You see that you are the one who needed help. You see that you were the one who was wrong. Coming home, but coming home different.

The celebration, music and feasting were a great welcome home for the prodigal. The next day was a return to the normal. The next day was a working day. The hugs were over. The next day the party was over. The feasting isn’t every day. The music and celebration isn’t every day. There is a return to the normal. There is a getting back to life as it ought to be. There is things to be done. There are responsibilities and duties that need to be tended to. A person returns to church. There are hugs and tears of joy. The next service returns to normal. A person who craves attention will not do well on “the next day.” A person who is seeking glory will not do well with the “next day.” The “next day,” can be as hard as the coming home. The same temptations are still there. The same rules are still there. The same house is there. The same work is there. The only thing that has changed has been the prodigal. Unless he changes, the “next day” won’t last long.

The next day. Give that some thought. What can you do to help others with their “next day?”

Roger

Jump Start # 880

Luke 15:32 “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live and was lost and has been found.’”

We continue our thoughts from the parable of the Prodigal son. The reckless boy returned home expecting and hoping that his father would make him a servant. He had no where else to turn. No one would help him. He realized that he had sinned. There was no one to blame but himself.

Would his father scold him? Lecture him? Beat him? Toss him out? He found his father to be better than he thought. His father ran, embraced and forgave him.

Forgiveness—it is the one true Christian value. A person can be generous without being a Christian. A person can be kind without being a Christian. It is rare, if not impossible to be forgiving without being a Christian. We learn forgiveness from Chris.

Forgiveness is a choice. The father chose to forgive. Forgiveness means to release what is owed. The debt is cancelled. Nothing more is required, expected or owed. The act of forgiveness is based upon love and grace. The forgiving father saw the prodigal coming home and felt compassion. He felt. It was that compassion that led to the forgiveness.

It is hard to forgive family failures. We are around family all the time. We expect more from family. When someone has hurt another family member, it is hard to let it go and forgive. Some family sins are just as terrible and wicked as the sins of the world. Some families have had to deal with sexual sins and abuse. Identity theft is the highest among family members. Family members can be cruel to each other. Jealously, favoritism, double standards have led to brothers and sisters not liking each other as grown adults. The prodigal’s older brother is an example of one who could not or would not forgive.

Forgiveness begins by wanting things to be better. The prodigal certainly needed things to be better. He was at the bottom of the barrel. The father missed the prodigal and wanted him home. There was an apology. There was a recognition of wrong done. Forgiveness is not denial. Forgiveness is not looking the other way. Forgiveness is not pretending everything is fine when it is not. Forgiveness sees the sin and chooses to release what is owed.

The prodigal was in huge debt. He lost all his inheritance. He ruined the family name. He wasted opportunity. He took advantage of his father. He demanded. He had an attitude. He was disrespectful. He didn’t like home nor the rules at home. His problems were many. The father forgave.

This is the key to families getting along and getting over the hurts that exist among them. Some can’t seem to let things go. They want and demand more than a “I am sorry.” They want to squeeze the person until some blood comes. Or, more often, they want nothing to do with the person. They ignore, avoid and refuse to communicate with the family. Someone can say, I am sorry, yet others may refuse to forgive. They feel that the apology is  not enough for some. It hurts. It hurts parents. It hurts brothers and sisters.

Later, we will talk about the elder brother—one who would not forgive.

The father was different. He chose to forgive. He didn’t have to. No one made him. He wanted to. That is the key. He wanted his son, both of his sons, sitting at his table. He wanted things good and right. He missed his son. He loved his son. He would gladly take the hurt, suffer the loss to have his son back.

Forgiveness means that you treat the person as if they had never left. For the father to say, ‘I forgive you,’ but you must sleep in the barn with the servants, isn’t true forgiveness. The robe, sandals, ring and feast showed forgiveness. Instead of tears, there was rejoicing. Instead of lectures and finger pointing, there was dancing and music. Forgiveness means you don’t keep returning to those same hurts. You don’t keep talking about it. You don’t keep the wound fresh. Some pick and pick at those old hurts, like kids do a scab, and the wound never heals. It is always fresh. It is always there. They wonder why they can’t move on. They wonder why they can’t forgive. Let it go. Let it heal. Give it some time. Don’t focus on the wrong, focus upon the return.

Understand, especially among families, when someone has been wounded, a person needs to apologize. The prodigal was not forgiven when he was with the pigs. He was not sent a ring, robe and sandal to the pig farm. He came home. He said, “Father, I have sinned…” Without the return, without those words, forgiveness cannot happen.

Paul told the Ephesians to forgive just as God in Christ has forgiven us. JUST AS. Have you thought about how many times God has forgiven you? 100x? 1,000x? Have you noticed that God doesn’t have a cap on forgiveness. You get so many chances and after that you are on your own. God doesn’t do that. He loves. He wants. He forgives. He forgives those who come home. He forgives those who are tired of pigs and want to be home. He forgives those who acknowledge that they have sinned. Over and over God forgives.

Forgiveness is not easy. It’s not easy to admit, nor state that you hurt others. It’s not easy to let it go.

To do what God wants, we must apologize and we must forgive. It takes following Christ to do that. Where are you in all of this?

Do you need to apologize to someone? Do you need to forgive someone? The Pharisees couldn’t. God could. The father could. The elder brother could not. Where are you with this?

Roger