Scripture Reading(s)
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him.
15:2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
15:3 So he told them this parable:
15:11b “There was a man who had two sons.
15:12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them.
15:13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.
15:14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.
15:15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs.
15:16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.
15:17 But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!
15:18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;
15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”‘
15:20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.
15:21 Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
15:22 But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe–the best one–and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
15:23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
15:24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
15:25 “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
15:26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on.
15:27 He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’
15:28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him.
15:29 But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.
15:30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’
15:31 Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
15:32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'”
Reflections
This is a parable that I think can resonate and have a personal impact on all of us. To some it provokes a response of happiness and emotion when the son returns. To others it could be a sense of anger that the son who ran away was welcomes with open arms and perhaps side with the elder son. Regardless, this point of this story is to paint a picture of God’s Grace.
We have all had points in our lives in which we may have backslidden or gotten distracted by our love for other things other then God. It could have been triggered by some form of sinful addiction, a tragedy that created doubt towards God’s love, or simply just becoming complacent in our walk with God. No matter what has caused us to loose sight of God’s love in our lives, His word promises that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Just like the father who opened up his arms towards his lost son, so does our Heavenly Father do the same when we come back to Him with an attitude of humility and grace. When the son returned home, there was no questioning of what had happened or what made him back. The father was just filled with joy that something had brought his son back to him. When it comes to our sin, where there is repentance, there is grace and forgiveness. God’s love trumps our sin no matter how big or small. It begins with a heart of humility and then ends with a pouring of God’s love and blessings in our lives.
“Father take me back
Let me start again
Lord I’ve failed and fallen in my pride
Lead me back to you
Where my life began
Revive in me the yearning that has died”
Lyrics by Avalon “First Love”
[Featured image from pulpit.com]