"My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.”
When the prodigal son returned from his wild fling, the elder son was resentful of the father’s lavish display of love and joy. After all, as an obedient son, he had stayed home and worked.
It isn’t fair.
Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!
Notice the older brother is so resentful of the father’s easy forgiveness that he doesn’t even call the prodigal a brother – he says, this son of yours…
His feelings are understandable. How often he must have wished his brother to be home to help with the work instead of off living a wild life.
It isn’t fair!
No it isn’t. It’s love, grace and mercy!
Isn’t this what Jesus is saying. God loves everyone, even the worst offenders and desires their repentance and presence in His house.
No wonder this story touches us in such a tender way. Because at some point in life every one of us is the prodigal son or the elder brother!
We have wandered away from our Heavenly Father and lived in ways that surely disappointed Him. Or maybe we have struggled with resentment over how someone close to us has lived their life.
Our goal as students of the Teacher is to understand the heart of God. To truly receive His love and forgiveness for our own sins! And to rejoice when anyone who has wandered away from God comes back home to Him!
Forgiveness given to us should effect our attitudes toward others. For example, Luke 741-47 and the sinful woman at the Pharisees house. He who has been forgiven little, loves little.
ReplyDeleteEph 4:32 "Be kind and compassionate, forgiving one another just as in Christ God forgave you."
While most have had a period of prodigal time, most have also probably had an older son experience.
Yet if we truly realized how much we have been forgiven, maybe we'd change our attitudes.
It is a challenge for most to try and count their blessings. Could you imagine trying to count the sins you've been forgiven of!?!?!?
We've been forgiven much.
How forgiving are we?
"The beauty of grace is it makes life not fair!"
(song lyrics by Reliant K)