Last night we had a time of worship at our church. It was a lovely time, and in the midst of it, the Lord was encouraging me in some of the some of my recent reflections to embrace fully a changed mind. I felt Him gently drawing me back to look fully upon Him, taking my eyes off those distracting things. As I was working through some of that I was reminded of the Story of the wayward son, found in Luke 15: 11-32. This is one of my favorite stories and as I was rereading it I had a couple of thoughts that were completely new to me, and I believe they were just the tiniest bit of new revelation (at least to me). I love when the Lord opens my eyes to something new, seeing a new layer of potential meaning. It is almost like a rose just continuing to open, revealing additional layers of beauty.
Jesus was telling this parable to a mixed crowd of His followers and Tax Collectors, sinners and Pharisees ( See Luke 15:1-3), and it was the third Parable we have recorded from that day. Any He begins the story about a wealthy Father who has two sons, and he details the failings and wanderings of the younger son, but also includes the reaction of the older son, when the younger finally comes home, and the father celebrates. I wanted to share those verses and look at a few thoughts - Luke 15:25-32 NIV:
[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.' ”
What I heard last night were some additional levels to this story, that I hadn't thought of previously. When Jesus speaks, there is usually more than one perspective, and usually deeper meanings as well as the most obvious.
Clearly in the context of the crowd He was addressing, at first pass, the younger son represents the repentant sinners and tax collectors, those that were turning from "evil" lives to follow Him,. The older son represented the Pharisees, those that followed the Law. If you will, we could even go so far as saying the younger son represents the soon to be revealed New Covenant and the Gospel of Grace, the older son represents the Covenant of the Law. While that was always a bit of an undeveloped thought for me, last night I saw it much clearer. We could even go so far as to say the younger son represents the Gentiles, and the Older son represents the Jews. Jesus is clearly the greatest prophet to have ever lived, and I believe He was laying the foundation for what would later be revealed and fulfilled through His sacrifice, and the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
One other thing that passed my mind was that we could possibly say that older and younger sons represent the angelic hosts and humans. The spirit of the older son would, in this case, clearly be representing the fallen angels, for their rebellion and hatred towards God's other image bearers, man and woman. I had never ever thought of that parallel, but I think its possible something is there worth reflecting upon.
Additionally, another nuance I saw was the story being applied to the church today, and the new believers representing the younger son, the older son representing those that have embraced a bit of a religious spirit that has somehow convinced them that they have earned some right to payment (having things their way), or control from the Father. In this case, the answer of the older son, "this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes" reveals an unforgiveness of the younger brother, even possibly a belief that he is tainted, or somehow is bringing his former sinful ways, or the fruit of them, back to the Father's house. One could say that the older son feels the younger son doesn't deserve to be celebrated, and certainly not in charge of anything, until he demonstrates that his life is cleaned up, and earns the right to it. I have unfortunately seen this attitude alive and well in the church, and even at times have had similar thoughts. Lord forgive me!
One last thought on the older son, I also felt like he represents those of us who have judged the Lord for things not working out the way we wanted them to. He represents those of us who have followed the Lord to the best of our ability, working and being obedient, and seeing others prosper, or be blessed, and wondering why God hasn't produced what we wanted or expected. Ouch, that one certainly hits close to home for me.
In all of these nuances, I feel the Father's answer to the older son is an invitation to change the way he views Him, and to change the way he thinks about his situation. The Father is celebrating the repentance (changing his thinking and actions) of the younger son, and I am sure He would celebrate the repentance of the older son as well! The Father clearly understood the older son, and actually did the exact same thing that He did for the younger son, he went to him. The Father's answer of intimacy "you are always with me" and promise of blessing and provision, "and everything I have is yours" have always been true, but he wants the older son to see that once again! He is inviting the older son (those of us that are embracing this way of thinking) to lay down his offence, embrace the truth and change the way he thinks of the Father, and of his brother, who has already repented.
Oh, that we could learn to imitate the Father, celebrating the return of the lost, remember that we, too, were once lost, and embrace the invitation to intimacy and promise of blessings available to us! Lord, help us to represent Your heart to all we meet, sinner or fellow brother or sister in this Your family. Help us to lay down our wrong judgments, our wrong ways of thinking, and embrace Love, mercy and the Gospel of Grace.
Amen and Amen!
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