Come Home for Christmas
Friday, December 22, 2006
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, I know that I can be the “older brother.” I can be upset when others receive your grace and mercy in ways that don’t seem “fair.” Please help me to understand that apart from Your grace everyone deserves to be separated from You by our sin. Please help me to always “join the party,” when lost brothers and sisters come home, and to be among the first to welcome them! This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God’s Word Today
Luke 15:11-32
11To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now, instead of waiting until you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
13“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and took a trip to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money on wild living. 14About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15He persuaded a local farmer to hire him to feed his pigs. 16The boy became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
17“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired men have food enough to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger! 18I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man.”’
20“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
22“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet. 23And kill the calf we have been fattening in the pen. We must celebrate with a feast, 24for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
25“Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the calf we were fattening and has prepared a great feast. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
28“The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve worked hard for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the finest calf we have.’
31“His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you and I are very close, and everything I have is yours. 32We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”
Reflecting on God’s Word
Have you ever been upset, because someone seemed to receive more grace than they “deserved”? If so, what was the situation and how did you come to accept it?
A Deeper Exploration of God’s Word
What was the older brother’s response to his younger brother’s return?
How did the father attempt to get the older brother to welcome his brother back?
Understanding God’s Purpose for Us
According to Luke 15:25-32, what is God’s purpose for our lives?
Applying God’s Word to Our Purpose
The older brother was unwilling to accept his younger brother back, or even to acknowledge him as part of the family. Think about people you know who are like the younger brother. If you have a “hard heart” toward them, ask God to give you the same love and compassion for them that He has. Then take some time in prayer for them now and ask God to open their hearts and lives to Him. (If you don’t have a hard heart toward them---pray for them anyway!)
Thoughts—“This Son of Yours…”
The older brother wasn’t exactly thrilled to find out that his younger brother had returned, was he? In fact, he refused to have anything to do with him. When the father came out of the party to talk with the older brother, the older brother referred to his younger brother as “your son.” The cultural standards of Jesus day would have said that the older brother was right. What the younger brother did was totally unacceptable and the family was to have nothing to do with him again. The father could not stand on such customs. He was led by love and compassion. The father sought to get the older brother to see the amazing nature of his younger brother’s transformation – he was lost, but was found; he was dead, but had come to life! The older brother seemed to be having none of it. His focus was on justice and what was right, rather than mercy and restoration. As we go about our lives as followers of Jesus, it is so important that we never become “older brothers.” Sometimes when we have followed Jesus for a time, we forget that our lives weren’t (and aren’t) perfect, and we can become like the older brother, expecting that anyone who wants to join the family must live up to “higher standards.” The reality is we are all part of God’s family by His invitation, and once we have come home, we are called to welcome everyone in whom God has received. The transformation of our lives comes AFTER we come home, not before. The younger brother came to his senses in the distant country, but the transformation of his life was yet to be seen. The Father welcomed him based on his return—not his productivity, and we must do the same!