MONDAY 4th – Luke 15:11-32
We return to the chapter from yesterday and continue into the third story that Jesus told to the listening crowd. The story of the lost son, or the prodigal son.
Like the two previous parables this is also well-known and ends up with a celebration, except this time we are told much more about the celebration in the farming family than we read about with the shepherd and the woman.
In this story, the younger of the two sons chose to leave the safety and security of the family farm to go and to do his own thing. We know the story, he wanted the future (his inheritance) in the present, he thought he was adult enough to look after himself, he thought the grass was greener on the other side, and so he got what he wanted, he went where he wanted, he did what he wanted and he ended up in a bit of a mess.
Obviously we see here the picture of the prodigal, or backslider, but at this point in the devotion, I want to suggest that we can often be like this son, we are living in the safety of our heavenly Father’s care, he has bountiful provision for us, not only an eternal inheritance but provision for the present day. And yet, we want more than he wants us to have, we forget to ask for or to get his advice and we try to make our own decisions and often we feel the grass is greener on the other side. He has a plan for our lives and yet we want to do our own thing. Looking at this parable should teach us that it is far better to stay in the safety and security of our Father’s homestead than to go off seeking to do our own thing. This is often how backsliding begins, putting our own self and personal ambition before the will of God.
To come back to the parable, we see the son, at his lowest point, feeding pigs, this would be an insult to a Jewish family and he was so hungry, he could have ate the pigs food, and no one gave him anything. Then we get to verse 17, ‘But when he came to himself’ or ‘to his senses.’ He began to look at his present situation, he remembered the past (what he had been) and began to think again of the future. (what he could be) He remembered the comfort of the family and farmstead and he longed for home. So much so that he knew that even if he only went back as a servant, he would be better off than in his present situation. So, speech prepared off he went, to use a modern phrase, probably with his tail between his legs, thinking, ‘I’m going to have to eat some humble pie.’
But the story has an incredible ending. He did not even make it home, his father was waiting for him, and threw his arms around him, kissing him, and he called for a party. (vv22-23) And why not, listen to what dad said, ‘Let us eat and celebrate. For this MY SON was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and his found. And they began to celebrate’ – there were new shoes, a new coat, a ring on the finger and dinner with the best beef. He got a lot more than he could have ever hoped and dreamt for while sitting amongst the pigs in squalor, for such was his father’s love for him. He welcomed the prodigal back into the family and home, not as a servant but as a son, able again to enjoy the privileges of living at home with mum and dad.
The remaining verses tell us of the older son, he was not a happy bunny, he was angry, he was jealous, he was anything but what he should have been. Whereas the younger son had said I want, the older brother was also all about ‘me’, I have done this, I have done that, I didn’t do what he has done etc. and he complained about the party, the celebration. A warning for us in the family of God to make sure our hearts are right in our attitude towards those who have wandered, not to become proud or haughty, thinking we are better, but to remain humble and prayerful that our lost brothers and sisters will come home. I want there to be parties in heaven yet again not just over sheep and coins being found but rejoicing over prodigal’s returning.
Thank God our Heavenly Fathers’ arms are always held wide open to receive the wandering sinner, but the same arms are also held wide open to receive back the prodigal, the backslider, ready to reinstate their rights as the sons and daughters of the household of God.
Two points for us to finish with today.
First, maybe someone is reading this today that thinks a little like the younger son, I want to do my own thing, I want to go, the grass is greener the other side. Think over this story and learn the lesson the easy way rather than the hard way as the son had to. The grass is not greener, things are not rosier, for eventually by going your own way and doing your own thing you will end up with the pigs and more so with the ‘pig’ himself! Stay in the safety of our heavenly Father’s home, with his family, in a place of safety and security that is not only for now but also for eternity. Our heavenly Father has an eternal inheritance ready for each one of us, do not squander yours by doing your own thing and going your own way.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love:
Take my heart, oh, take and seal it
With Thy Spirit from above.
Rescued thus from sin and danger,
Purchased by the Savior’s blood,
May I walk on earth a stranger,
As a son and heir of God.
Secondly. We all know those who we would say are backslidden, there is hope as this story tells us and many have already come to their senses, don’t give up, keep praying that the wayward prodigals, the son’s and daughter’s will return back to Father and home.
Part 3 (Continued from yesterday)
Further on outside the town,
A farmer lived with lots of ground,
Two sons he had who worked quite hard,
In fields and in the farming yard.
The youngest of them said one day,
I really want to run away,
I’ll ask my dad for what I’m owed,
And wander off along the road.
His dad his portion to him gave,
And watched him go as he did wave,
With tears that fell-down, both his cheeks,
Too sad to argue or to speak.
The lad he travelled off quite far,
And spent his time in all the bars,
And soon he found his money gone,
What would he do from now there on?
He found a job feeding some pigs,
It also meant he had some digs,
But hunger always made him ill,
He ended eating the pig swill.
One day all dirty and forlorn,
He thought of home and then did mourn,
‘If only dad would take me back,
As servant then I would not lack.’
So off he trotted back to home,
No more to squander or to roam,
But will they want to welcome me,
Of that there is no guarantee.
As near the farmyard he did get,
His heart was filled with deep regret,
He saw a figure running fast,
And shouting ‘Son it’s you at last.’
Before he even said a word,
His father hugged him undeterred,
‘Son my heart is full of joy,
To see you back my dearest boy.’
The father called to servants near,
‘Rejoice with me my son is here,
Get fatted calf and choicest wine,
Let’s have a party, come let’s dine.’
The older brother in the field,
His anger struggled to conceal,
‘A party for your wreck-less son,
But not for me with all I’ve done.’
The father spoke out loud and clear,
‘My son was lost or dead I’d feared,
But look he’s here and still alive,
Rejoice with me home he’s arrived.’