#82: The Story of the Father of Two Sons (Part 2)

Luke 15:11-32

Often times when going through scriptures, this story to be more specific, we only appreciate it as an interesting tale-a story about a bad son, with whom we have very little to do. We see him as a rather irresponsible fellow. But then it is not the custom of God to be careless in His Word. Why would God be confronting us with a story that we know too well if not that He wants you to see yourself in the picture. We are not going through this study to raise sympathy over the lost, neither are we going to have a sign of relief after a happy ending, but to see similarities with our daily experiences. The parables that Jesus told were not bed time stories; they were not to entertain, but to educate. And not to educate us about others, but to cut to the core of our own being; to teach us about our relationship with God. We will therefore be continuing from where we felt we could put a comma and make some deliberate actions on issues that God was beginning to raise from the parable.

But when he spent all, there arose a severe famine in the land: let us pay close attention to the course of events. The famine arose after he spent all. The faraway land that once blossomed and was full of merriment was just camouflaging to invite the young man in. As far as he had something to offer, the place looked green. When he came to his wit end, the famine started. The faraway land had nothing to offer him. In the midst of the famine he began to be in want. This is exactly how the world system is. The world will take your purity and leave you empty, your intelligence will be taken from you, your freedom will be taken from you, and your finance will be taken from you. Everywhere will suddenly become dry and you will start being in want.

Then he went and joined himself with a citizen of that country: just when I was beginning to feel that the young man has learnt his lesson and seen the need to be within the walls of his father’s house, there and then he devised a means to meet his want. He joined himself with a citizen. Can we check our lives to see what we have got attached to in order to fill the void caused by the distance from our Father? The famine was to drive him back to his father’s arms, but he felt there was a nearer solution to his problem. He opted for a demeaning job. There was no wisdom in what he did; vs 16 ends by saying that he was not given anything-no salary or wages, no compensation plan, no food. What type of job would you call that? He was always yearning to share a meal with the pigs.  May God begin to open our eyes to the vanity of the several schemes that we are getting attached to? These schemes have only one goal-death by starvation.

But when he came to himself: Hallelujah! This quickly brings to thought that he was far from himself, and undoubtedly so because of all the decisions he had been making all along at least for his last decision which we just discussed. Suddenly all his senses began to work. His eyes were open. Ever before the schemes of the faraway land could kill him and make him a written off history, he came to himself. As you read the Word of God today, can you deliberately come to yourself? There was a part of him that was longing to return home, but he kept silencing it; he kept killing his conscience. And if we are to be honest with ourselves, when we backslide, every day we go farther from God because we are killing our conscience which continually tells us we need to return to the Father. I pray that our consciences be revived today. Amen. He had made the transition. In his repentance speech, he acknowledged his father, even though in our next edition we will discover that he really didn’t know the extent of his father’s love. He acknowledged his wrong doings and was sorry for them. He was craving for a new attachment; he wanted to come in as a hired servant (a servant that is affiliated to the house, not necessarily dwelling there-one who was hired occasionally). He just wanted to be in the congregation of saints, enjoying moments of God’s presence once more, no matter how brief. Are you feeling this way too? You feel you have sinned and backslidden so far that you need to work to win a place back at God’s right hand or you are not even worthy to be a vessel of honor, we are trusting that God will arrest this shadow of condemnation and myopia in us with Love in the next edition.

And he arose and came to his father: I wish to end this week’s edition with this action or bold step that the young man made. Many times our repentance stop at the stage of considerations. We do not make any step to come to God [in prayer]. God has given an invitation: “Come to Me, all you who…and I will…” I see a command in the invitation, a call to action not a call to deliberations, not a call to speeches, a call to Come. Then and only then will He… Again he was going to a specific destination, he was not just setting out arbitrarily. He was going to his father. The invitation spells it out: “Come to Me…”

HYMN

As a dog that no more heareth

The hunter’s whistles and calls,

I get lost in the world’s wilderness

Hoping never to return.

[Nevertheless], Savior please fail not to call me

As thou didst Adam in Eden

Saying “Where art thou O Sinner?”

That I may be saved from ruin.

(By the grace of God we will be continuing the study next week. God bless you.)