DAY 299 - I Deserve

Luke 15:3, 11-32 (NIV) ³ Then Jesus told them this parable: ¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. ¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. ¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. ²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. ²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ ³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Does the story of the Prodigal Son tell us the truth about God or is it just another “feel good” panacea for dealing with the hard realities of life? One thing that is different about this story is the one telling it. Jesus offered more than just a compelling story about the goodness of God. He also offered His life. Our faith is not founded simply on a story, but on the verifiable fact of the Cross. Our faith is that while we were still sinners God showed His goodness and love for us.

If the story of the Prodigal is true, then this goodness of God should be the motivating center of our life. It should be the motivating center in our relationship to other people, in the way we raise our children, in the way we spend and give our money, in whether there is peace or worry inside us. The story of the Prodigal Son should be the motivating center of our life, but it won’t be if it is also true about us.  Are we the Prodigal? God repects our Leave Me Alone commitment. God did not interfere in the choices the Prodigal made. Sometimes it appears almost mean of God to do so. But we know that behind the appearance is a God of love, waiting for us to come to ourselves.

Both Sons suffer from the same sense of deserving, a sense that sneaks subtly into our lives. The Father of the Prodigal allowed real life to open the heart of the Son. In the same way, life hammers on us and brings this underlying sense of deserving to the surface. We see the truth of ourselves and then the Cross begins to make some sense.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope March 26, 1995

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell (Broyles)