Warning: this blog may be found offensive and/or
convicting to long-time Christians. Do not proceed if you wish to remain
unchanged. J
I was so interested in this parable of the Lost Son that I purchased a
copy of ‘Prodigal God’ by Timothy Keller. He dives deeper into the story and
says that most of us can be fall into the category of elder brothers or younger
brothers.
“The elder brothers divide the world in two: ‘The good people (like
us) are in and the bad
people, who are the real problem with the world, are out‘. Younger
brothers, even if they don’t believe in God at all, do the same thing, saying,
‘No, the open-minded and tolerant people are in and the bigoted, narrow-minded
people, who are the real problem with the world, are out’.
But Jesus says, ‘The humble are in and the proud are out’ (Luke 18:14).
The people who confess they aren’t particularly good or open-minded are moving
toward God, because the prerequisite for receiving the grace of God is to
know you need it. [Did you catch that?] The people who think they
are just fine, thank you, are moving away from God.
The Lord cares for
the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud” -Psalm 138:6
The younger son’s flight from the father was crashingly obvious. He left
the father, literally, physically, and morally. Though the older son stayed at
home, he was actually more distant and alienated from the father than his
brother, because he was blind to his true condition. He would have been
horribly offended by the suggestion that he was rebelling against the father’s
authority and love, but he was, deeply.
Because the elder brother is more blind to what is going on, being an
elder-brother Pharisee is a more spiritually desperate condition.
“How dare you say that?” is how religious people respond if you suggest their
relationship with God isn’t right. “I’m there
every time the church doors are open”.
Jesus says, in effect, “That doesn’t matter”.
(Ouch).
…Elder brothers don’t go to God and beg for
healing from their condition. They see nothing wrong with their condition, and
that can be fatal. If you know you are sick you may go to a doctor; if you
don’t know you’re sick-you’ll just die.
The younger brothers of the world also
desperately need to see this. When we see the attitude of the elder brother in
the story we begin to realize on of the reasons the younger brother wanted to
leave in the first place. There are many people today who have abandoned any
kind of religious faith because they see clearly that the major religions are
simply full of elder brothers. They have come to the conclusion that religion is
one of the greatest sources of misery and strife in the world. And guess what?
Jesus says through this parable—they are right.
Religion operates on the principle of “I
obey—therefore I am accepted by God”. The basic operating principle of
the gospel is “I am accepted by God through the work of Jesus Christ—therefore
I obey”.
So where do you go from there? The good news is
there is HOPE for both lost sons. The Father cares desperately to have a
relationship with you and it starts by recognizing his love and just how much
it cost to bring you home. He is inviting you to repent of trying to be your
own savior and join the feast He is throwing in your honor.
Will you come?
On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine-the best of meats
and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy the shroud
that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up
death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 25:6-8)
