11 And he said, "There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his field to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 But when he came to himself, he said "How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.'" 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22 But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate.1. The first point to recognize is the rebelliousness of man in v.12-13.
And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.So often we seek after the material riches that God provides rather than Him, the Creator and Provider Himself. And when He blesses, we will often abuse all that He has given us on selfish living -- did you know He blesses us so that we can bless others?
This rebelliousness can also be very, very subtle. For example, with the time that God has given us, how do we spend each second? Or even with that boy or girl we happened to be blessed to be with? This is how the enemy attacks. We often take subtle steps of rebellion against God by thinking "Just another 10 minutes on Facebook is harmless," or even "Just another kiss is harmless... maybe one more..." and you can see where this is going. We cannot allow ourselves to be inhibited by the thoughts from the enemy that keep us from honoring Him who has blessed us with these "good" things!
2. Remember that sin is not just something bad, but it is a direct offense at God v.21
Sin is absolutely painful for God to witness. It's disgusting in His eyes. And we do it every day. Aside from sin of the flesh (which are the most obvious and easiest to stop), how do you sin with your mind? How do you look at others? Even if not with lust, do you judge? See yourself above others? Feel bitter judgment upon those who mistreat you? God's greatest command is to love Him with all your heart, mind and strength. We all fall short this commandment, and therefore directly offend Him as we continually place other things in greater priority than Him. Remember, we should not place Him as our #1 priority, but strive to make Him our only priority, else we get our priorities mixed up (i.e. compare the amount of time we spend on social media over studies. If time allocation indicates importance of matters, what does your how you spend your time say about your priorities?)
3. God will run after you if you turn to him v.20b
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.In this illustration, the father, an elderly man, was running towards his dirty, ragged son. In back in the days that Jesus walked this earth, for an elderly man to run was shameful. It required him to expose his ankles and draw many eyes to himself. Draw from this that Jesus took our shame, and forgave us. How great is our God? We must turn to him. If the light of Christ does not touch our shames, we will never be set free.
4. God not only forgives, but fully restores v.22b-24.
'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate.He gives as if we've never sinned; and He doesn't just forgive, He restores our relationship as His sons and daughters! Recall that the son said "I am no longer worthy to be called your son," and intended to become just a hired hand for his father. But no, the father fully restored his relationship as a son. Because of Jesus, we will never be second-class citizens. Amen.
Other notes:
- The father didn't give the younger son what he wanted, the father gave his son what he needed; not what the son deserved, but what he didn't deserve.
- You cannot uplift a city without transforming the marginalized
- There is no fire without sacrifice
- Be a living sacrifice -- living = moving
- In all things, do them not for man's approval/applause; answer only to Jesus and only see His approval and applause.
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