By Pastor Peter Linnecar
The parable of the Prodigal Son shows us two sons: one who went astray and one who in his own eyes, had done everything right towards his father. It also shows us the heart of the Father, which was to forgive the younger son and to celebrate his return regardless of what he had done. We must make sure our reaction towards those who have gone astray is not, like the elder brother, one of anger and condemnation, believing that we are better than they, but one of forgiveness, rejoicing in their return. Christianity is outward, we must be open to what God wants to do through us to reach others who have gone astray.
I want to talk to you this morning about that relationship which God has with an individual as a Christian. He is our loving, heavenly Father. All that He is, and all that He has He has made available to you. I'm going to be speaking about a parable. Any word in the Bible God uses to reveal Himself, through the Holy Spirit, to you.
This is Jesus speaking to His disciples, and it is as if He is speaking to you and me too:
God's purpose in our lives is that we bear fruit unto Him. That could be in terms of the fruits of the spirit, or that could be God working through you so that others, in their desperate need, would find the answer in Jesus Christ.
We have in the following scripture perhaps most the famous parable. We are talking here about a certain man who had two sons. Often in this parable, the focus is on the one who went away; it is not so often on the elder brother who stayed at home.
He took his inheritance from the father and went to a far country, little realising that a famine would hit. He ended up with no friends, no food and no joy or peace in his heart. He also ended up working with swine; it was the complete and utter pits. It is possible for someone to have a fling, and to imagine that living the world's way, will result in peace and friendship. However, as we see, this fling ended in no peace or friends.
So he had the rehearsed confession of what he would say to his father. He realised that even the hired servants were in a better position than him.
What's going to come out of this parable to us is the attitude of God, our loving heavenly Father. This man rehearsed the confession and he'd probably worked out how he would meet his father again. He didn't realise that his father had spent every day looking for him. And when he came back he found his father running to meet him.
The robe and the ring are emblems of sonship. The shoes are to show that he is above the servants, who had no shoes. It says in Romans 5:8
That means - transposing just briefly from the parable - that, when you were doing your own thing and were a million miles from God and were in sin, God was looking out for you. Their came a time in your life where He ran, as it were, to meet you. He changed you and me from nothing into something, from hell-bent to heaven-directed. I don't know if you remember the time before you came to know Him. Here this morning you may have realised that, although you are here at church, you are like the younger brother.
Now we come to the reaction of the elder brother.
We are now going to see the character of the elder brother. Some have said that the younger son represents the publicans and sinners, and the elder brother represents the Pharisees and the Scribes. What is important though is that the Father's heart is the same to both sons.
When the younger son returned, his brother was angry because, for all of his life he had been serving his father. But now, this son who squandered his inheritance, had been welcomed back with a fatted calf and a ring and robe as if he had done nothing wrong. Here we can see the heart of the older son. He had judged his brother, deciding that he was a wastrel, and therefore, even thought his brother had returned, he could not forgive him.
So he quickly assimilates a lifetime and calls it serving, he vows that he has never disappointed his father but yet has never been given a kid to make merry with his friends. This was a self-righteous, and a self-pitying position. Woe betide any of us who does not rejoice with a brother or sister who has been restored or blessed by God. When you see that, are you angry inside? Do you immediately pigeon-hole people who have, in your opinion, gone the wrong way?
The elder brother's reaction was one of complete condemnation. He was angry because his brother had wasted his life with the wrong people, and yet his father had welcomed him back. If you think about it, the elder brother's comments were all focused on him: he had done everything right, he had served his father all his life, and he had not been given a fatted calf. He had no reason to be angry because he still had his inheritance, but there was something about his way of life which had made him a slave to religion. The moment his brother came it disrupted his position.
It was true that when the Pharisees and the Scribes saw Jesus linking up with the dregs of society, that they were angry and couldn't understand. But in your heart, do you get angry? Or do you rejoice with them that rejoice? When you see someone that has gone wrong, what is your attitude towards them?
The father ignores the sarcasm of the older son, when he says that his brother has been living with harlots. The father says that it was right to celebrate his return, because he was dead and is now alive. This means that, as a Christian, you can't choose not to link up with another Christian because you think that they had previously gone the wrong way. The older brother was so bound up with himself that he didn't understand or identify with his father's grief at his brother's previous absence; his brother was dead for all he cared. The heart of the elder brother is something we all need to be careful of. Firstly, in terms of the younger brother, we need to make sure we don't take the gifts of God and squander them on a wrong lifestyle. But also with the older brother, we need to make sure that we don't become self-righteous and quick to condemn others.
The father's heart was to look out for both sons. Each day he looked out for the younger one and then, when the older one got angry, he went out to him and entreated him. I want to convey to you that what you have in God is a precious gift. It is a gift of faith.
This parable reveals that we need to be outward looking, as the father was. Not constantly comparing yourself with others and judging others. We need to be people who are constantly reaching out and waiting for those have gone astray to return home. It doesn't say at the end of the parable whether the older brother did go in. I would think that he did because there are two people here who ended up with their father. You can see through this how easy it is for the enemy of our souls to bring division. If you judge someone and refuse to forgive them when they return, you will be divided.
It is interesting that the father didn't really listen to the confession of the younger son. He didn't care because all that mattered was that he returned. He tried to explain this to his elder son, but he couldn't see and rejoice that his brother had returned. During this coming week I want each one of you to ask God who it is that He wants you to reach this week. Who is it that you've written off, that you should now be reconciled with? Pray for those who have gone astray. And in this coming week, in whatever you do, be open to what God through His Holy Spirit wants to do through you. It is Father's heart inside you and it is His power to cancel out sin and save. He is the One who does it all.
A little later on in John 15, Jesus went on to say these words:
We are meant to bring forth fruit, and we will. As you think about this parable, I want you to be open to what God, our heavenly Father, is speaking to you. It is outward, it is about others. We must be open about our faith with others. I am grateful to God for the way that, at this time, He is causing each one of us to be open before Him to share that faith He has given us. Don't get tied up in the legalism of the older brother, come into the celebration with the younger brother and rejoice in Him. Come into the place where God can work through you to reach others who have gone astray. He is a wonderful heavenly Father and He loves regardless of what you have done or what others may say.
