This morning I opened my Bible, and it opened to Luke 15, which is the story of the Prodigal Son. This is a story that Jesus told, and one of my favorites. I have reflected on it multiple times, and yet this morning I felt like the Lord opened my eyes to something new, something I have never seen before. I have always considered this one of the best illustrations of the Father's love for us, and I still think that is true, what I saw this morning was that it is also a beautiful analogy of the Gospel of Grace and the history of the Jews, and their struggle with this Good News.
Here is the story found in Luke 15:11-32 NIV:
[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.
[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.' ”
As I began to think about this parable, I saw this interesting parallel between the description of the young son's sojourn and the history of the Jews. They are the chosen people, and God is their active protector, but they say they want a King, effectively rejecting God as their Ruler. This is like the young son asking for His inheritance, and setting off on His own. Like the young son, the Jews struggled with following God's law, instead constantly straying away from the Law and wasting their inheritance. However, God is constantly watching over them, waiting for them to return to Him, and always accepts them back.
This is where the Gospel of Grace is revealed, in the Father's welcoming the younger son home, He restores to his son, everything that he had wasted and turned his back on, just because He loves him. The son wants to earn his way back into relationship with the Father, but the Father will hear nothing of it, and immediately restores everything and re-establishes Him as an heir. This is what God did over and over for the Jews, and what He does for all who come to Him, as this is the Gospel of Grace, for it is clearly unmerited favor!
The older son, I believe, represents those who believe that favor can only be earned, and those who judge everyone accordingly. I also believe , as of this morning, that this represents the Jewish people's rejection of the Gospel of Grace, and the salvation that is available to them in the new covenant. Clearly this is not true of all Jews for the first disciples were all Jewish, but rather represents the teachers of the Law, and proponents of it. Theirs is an angry response to those who receive freely, that which they have worked so diligently to establish. Notice the Father doesn't reject the older son, but instead reaffirms His love and relationship with him (verse 31).
So as I am thinking about this, I realize that many of us are being confronted with their own personal state of affairs. It is hard to run away from your true situation when you are asked to "shelter in place". I know the Lord has certainly been using this time to get my attention about a few areas of my life, helping me to see where I need to return to Him. I imagine that possibly many of us are coming to our senses (verses 17 above) and realizing we need to return to the Lord! The Good News is that His response is always the same, He is waiting with open arms, ready to welcome us right back into full relationship.
This Holy week is a time for us to reflect upon the depth of God's love for us, and His decision to fulfill all the requirements of the Law, so that we all might be restored to rightful relationship with the Father. We have before us the opportunity to consider our lives and to "come to our senses" and turn away from any sin and/or the reliance on anything that we are trying to pursue life through that is not the Lord.
The timing of this "shelter in place" rule is interesting, for we are going to celebrate Holy week on our own for our first time. Since we really can't do many of the things that we would normally do, many of us might be confronted with who we are in our relationship with God. Many of us tend to view ourselves from a "what we do" perspective. Oh that we would take this time to reflect and rediscover our true selves. We are meant to live full lives in constant relationship with our loving Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Its not about doing, its about embracing our identity and our inheritance in Him. Its about embracing the one who gave everything to reestablish for us the opportunity for full relationship!
May the Lord bless You, and embrace you with wide open arms of love! May you find rest for Your souls, in Him.
Sam
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