11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.What stood out to me today was verse 20. I've studied this passage many times before, but for some reason I was deeply moved by the image in that verse. In just about every parable Jesus tells, one character is God, and one or more characters represent us. In this story, the father represents God (our Heavenly Father). The prodigal represents one who turns from God, lives a sinful life of debauchery and subsequently repents and turns toward God later in life. The older son represents one who has been committed to God almost their entire lives. Right before Jesus tells this story, He is accused by the pharisees of "eating with sinners and tax collectors" in verses 1 and 2. Jesus then tells the parable of the lost coin to show those who were listening that God seeks earnestly for those who are lost (just as you would search for a lost day's wages - which is what one silver coin was equivalent to).
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘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. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”-Luke 15:11-32 (NIV)
Verse 11 starts the story of the prodigal and we immediately see some troubling things about this younger son. The first is he wishes for his inheritance (in Jewish customs, the first born gets a double inheritance, so this younger son at best gets 1/3 of his father's wealth) which basically he's telling his father "I wish you were dead." So his father, who loves him deeply, and likely knows whats going to happen next, does what he has to (liquidating family assets by selling property, cattle, etc. - remember they didn't have eTrade back then) in order to meet his son's request. Then the younger son runs off to a faraway land - you can read throughout the old testament of God's warning to His people about mingling with foreigners and how it leads to idolatry and worship of foreign gods. Then he squanders his money. Then he does the unthinkable and sells himself into slavery to work with pigs (Pigs were deemed unclean in Jewish custom). When he finally realized what he's done with his life and that his best thinking has gotten him nowhere, he has a repentant heart. Look at verses 18-19 where he says that he will go back to his Father and confess his sin and tell him he is not worthy to be called his son anymore. How many of us have done this with our Heavenly Father? How many of us hit that bottom, felt like the prodigal, and returned to our Father? I know I have. You can read my story later. At this point, the prodigal is willing to do ANYTHING to get it right with his father.
That leads me to where God got a hold of me this morning. In verse 20, it says, "So he got up..." - many times we are on the ground, beat-up, torn down when we finally turn to God - "...and went to his father..." - we repent - turning from our old ways and toward God's ways. The next part is amazing. "...But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him..." This tells me that his father was looking for him. I imagine that most people in this father's life probably wrote the prodigal son of as dead or never to return. But the father never gave up on his son. God does the same for us. No matter how far off we've wandered, He's looking to have a right relationship with us. He never gives up on us. He's ready for us to return to Him. Let's keep going on verse 20.
The verse concludes "....[the father] was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." Wow. Let's break this down. First it says he "was filled with compassion for him". No matter what you've done, God is always filled with compassion for you. If you have children, you can relate to this feeling a little. Think about when your child was young and did something wrong or was wronged by someone. Remember how bad you felt for your child? Remember the compassion you had for them? You probably consoled them and gave them a hug. Here in this story Jesus tells us that our Heavenly Father has compassion for us. More than we can comprehend. Secondly, the father ran to his son. Back in the first century, Jewish men didn't run. There was no Phiddipides store to get your perfect fit running shoes, there were no athletic shorts and no dry-fit shirts. Men didn't run. period. When Jesus said this, I imagine that the pharisees gasped and were shocked. This was a wealthy distinguished Jewish man and he was running to his son who rebelled, who blew it all, who was living with pigs, who was unclean, who would have been rejected EVERYWHERE else, and he's running to his son???!! Outrageous! I imagine the pharisees thinking. But that is EXACTLY what our Heavenly Father does for us. The moment we repent and turn in His direction, even when we feel a "long way off", God doesn't walk, doesn't meet, but runs toward us. And then what does He do? He greets us with compassion - see the hug and kiss in verse 20 (By the way, this would have made the father ceremonially unclean in Jewish tradition, to hug someone who was unclean) - He throws a huge party to end all parties (verses 22-24). He rejoices in our return to Him.
I don't know where you are in your relationship with Him right now. But I do know one thing, no matter what you've done, or how you feel, God loves you. God loves you more than you or I will ever completely comprehend. God loves us so much that sent His only Son to die as payment for yours and my sins. If you feel far from God, He knows it, but He still loves you. If you feel like you've done too much wrong, He knows and He wants you to repent and turn to Him. If you do, He will come running to you, and you will begin to know a love that you've never experienced before. You will begin to know true forgiveness. You may not feel worthy, but frankly, when you understand what He did for you on the cross, you won't feel worthy. Just like the prodigal, I don't feel worthy of His love, but that's what makes it so special.
May God bless you!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Be looking for a series from me on my favorite Christmas songs. I'm going to do my top 30 Christmas Songs counting down the days to Christmas starting Sunday, November 25th.
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