Yesterday I was meditating on the story of the prodigal son, (Luke 15:11-32) and saw something I never saw before concerning the older son. Here are the passages concerning him:
Luke 15:11-12, 25-32 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.
[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 was reading verse 12, I was struck by the last sentence - "He divided his property between them". I have read this story and heard this story maybe hundred's of times, yet never noticed the words "between them". In other words the Father gave the older son his share at the same time as He gave it to the younger son. I read the original Greek for clarity, but it isn't definitive to me, so I checked multiple different translations, done by people who understand the nuances of the Greek, and they all say the virtually the same thing.
What amazed me about this is I always believed the older brother's narrative to the Father, although it was clearly a mis-judgment of the Father's character by the older son, I still thought the basics of what he said were true. He had never received anything from the Father, mostly because he never asked. NOW, I read this and realize the Father had given him a huge amount of cash at the same time as the younger son, and my whole understanding of the story has changed. The older son, wasn't just misjudging the Father's character, thinking he worked for a taskmaster, instead it is about the older son's complete ungratefulness, and own character!
The older son had received the greatest gift his Father could give him, and in his eyes it was nothing! He was so ungrateful, so angry and so works oriented, that he refused relationship with the father, with his lost brother, and even turned up his nose at the feasting available to him. He refused to go in, and made the Father come out him. He accused the Father of being over generous, over merciful to the lost brother, and then accused Him of never giving him anything, which was a complete and utter lie!
One wonders if this was the result of the deception of bitterness? Was he so ungrateful that whatever he received was never enough? Was he so focused on his own self-worth, and convinced of his utter superiority that what the Father had given him was an insult? Was he just and angry, hateful individual who was contrary or confrontational about all things?
Personally, I think that this character represents many of us, who have lost our sense of the great gift we have been given in the forgiveness of our sins, and restoration of relationship with the Father. He represents those of us who live a life of dissatisfaction and disappointment based on certain things that haven't gone the way we think they should have, and we blame God. He represents those who expect the Father to answer their every prayer for self-indulgent things. He represents those who have a works mentality, who think they have to earn something that has already been given them. He represents the prideful who say, 'if God wants a relationship with me, He knows where I live and He can make Himself known to me'. He represents those of us who don't recognize that everything we have, even our very lives are a gift from the Father. He represents those of us who judge others, having lost all sense of our former or present day depravity, and the forgiveness we have been extended.
The really good news is that regardless of this all, the Father still goes out and meets him, pleading with him. The Father loves us all, regardless of our attitudes, our mis-information, our judgements against Him, or the deception we live under. The Father loves us all! He will do everything He can, in addition to everything he has already done, to win our hearts back to Him.
So my one encouragement today is to not be the older son! I have been given the greatest gift, have the most generous and loving Father, and His desire is for a loving and intimate relationship with me. I need to check my heart motives, my thoughts and expectations and make sure that none of the older son's attitudes live in me!
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