I was at espn.com this morning and saw an article on Tim Tebow, the outspoken Christian QB of the Florida Gators. I just had to read the comments that were posted there and it never seems to fail that someone will bring up the punishments of the Old Testament for things like cursing one's parents or working on the Sabbath (death for both). They use these as arguments that Christianity is ridiculous and way too strict and judgmental.
First, allow me to point out that all the references they use are Old Testament references. The Bible says that man fell in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. We learned right and wrong and, in so doing, committed the first wrong. It was our human nature first manifesting itself and leading us to selfishness.
Over the years, mankind, without God's laws, seemed to get worse and worse and worse. Certain actions, like murder, seemed to have always been against God's law. But mankind kept falling into deeper depravities until God, that we might stop digging ourselves a deeper hole, decided to start over with Noah and his family. Even after that, there was the Tower of Babel, all the various religions that sprung up within just a few hundred years of Noah, and all the atrocities committed by man against man.
When God led the Israelites out of captivity, he gave them the Ten Commandments and a long list of other commands. This was both to keep them inline and give them some standards to adhere to, but also to show them that they still needed God's mercy because none of them could ever live up to the law of the Old Testament. Because all sinned, there needed to be sacrifices offered to atone for the sins.
In the New Testament, Jesus became that sacrifice, fulfilling all the law (something we could never do), and then dying for us. The old law, in Him, is not washed away in the sense that it's like it never existed, for God is still holy, but it is washed away in the sense that we don't have to try to fulfill it anymore. Jesus fulfilled it. We now have to follow Him and try to live as He wants us to. Even in that, it is not by works that we are saved, but by faith.
That is the point in which Christianity differs from all other religions. Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc., all have a list of laws that must be fulfilled. Christianity has the requirement of faith in Jesus and love for God. It may seem like it's so much easier, and, in a way, it is, because once someone is saved, they are guaranteed Heaven. In other religions, once you join up, you still have to earn your way to Heaven. But living a Christian life is also far harder than in other religions, for the law of those religions may proclaim love, but one can't love out of adherence to a law. One has to love out of choice or not at all. Thus, a Christian has to choose to love, to put the needs of others above their own, when that is directly against human nature.
Following the law, by comparison, is easy, because if you do A, B, C, and D and refrain from X, Y, and Z, you get what you want. You may not know where you stand exactly, but there's no question of whether you're doing what you should be doing. But this makes religion nothing more than a contract. If you obey the laws, you get what you want. Otherwise, you don't. There's no love in such a contract and, since you're not the judge of whether you've fulfilled the law, there's no surety that you have met its requirements.
With Christianity, there are no requirements to fulfill, save to belief in Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins, that He lived a perfect life, that He rose again after death, and to love God above all and our neighbor as ourselves. We can't do either of these last two on our own because, let's face it, we can't love unconditionally. Only God can do that. So even in our "lighter" requirements, we fail miserably, perhaps more miserably than most adherents of other religions, because our fulfillment is based on our hearts and not our actions.
But Christians have God to help us to love like He does, which is another difference between Christianity and other religions. God helps us to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Other religions leave the believer to struggle with fulfilling the law on their own willpower.
Christians and non-Christians alike seem to think that Christianity is about rules and regulations. It's not. It's about love. It's about putting God before all and others before yourself, the very values that others say they laud in people. (Who doesn't get touched by a story of a soldier diving on a grenade to protect his platoon?)
Christianity requires only love for God, faith in Jesus, and love for others (including forgiving them). It's so much simpler than everyone makes it out to be. And so much more difficult to live than they could imagine. But we have God with us, perfecting the work which He has begun in us. In Him, we have finally found our life.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
I'm on a boat!
My mother is going through a rough time right now. She has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, Chronic Pain Syndrome, a degenerative back condition, and a pancreatic tumor. She gets migraines constantly, too, and a recent mammogram showed some suspicious-looking spots. She's been out of work on disability for almost three years now. My faith in God when this all started was pretty much nil. I hated Him, to be honest, for letting all this happen.
Then, He started working on me, beginning about April of last year, but really picking up speed in November, and then kicking it into overdrive at the beginning of this past May. I can easily find my peace in Him now...
Or so I thought. My mother just got out of the hospital for yet another problem. This time, her heart, pancreas, and liver teemed with enzymes and made her feel like she was having a heart attack. She had a friend take her to the hospital where they found the real culprits, but not the reason behind them. They don't think it was the pancreatic tumor, but rather all of her pain medications that were causing it.
It was bad news, because the only cure would be to get her off her medications, but that would mean no way to cope with the pain from the other ailments. I was at a party when I heard and ended up having to leave early so that I didn't bring down anyone else. I got home and opened the Bible to Mark 4. Over my years of ignoring the Bible, I had forgotten a lot of references, even though I still knew a lot of quotes and stories.
In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus tells his disciples that he wants them to cross to the other side of a sea. While they're crossing, a storm arose and waves washed over the boat, threatening to sink it. The disciples found Jesus sleeping in the stern, woke Him up, and said, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" Jesus got up, calmed the storm, and then rebuked them for their lack of faith.
Jesus was in the boat with them. How could the disciples believe that God would let Jesus perish along with them? As long as Jesus was there, they were perfectly safe. Jesus wasn't even concerned with the storm, because He knew it had no ability to harm Him. He was taking a nap!
And sometimes, that's how it seems in our lives. We know we have Jesus on our side, but it just feels like the storms of life are about to overwhelm us and, instead of lending a hand or just calming the storms, Jesus is snoozing in the stern. It is but a trial of our faith, for God is still in the boat with us. He doesn't have to be - Jesus could have walked on water or teleported as He did later - but He chooses to be, and as long as He is in the boat with us, no storm in life can sink us.
Then, He started working on me, beginning about April of last year, but really picking up speed in November, and then kicking it into overdrive at the beginning of this past May. I can easily find my peace in Him now...
Or so I thought. My mother just got out of the hospital for yet another problem. This time, her heart, pancreas, and liver teemed with enzymes and made her feel like she was having a heart attack. She had a friend take her to the hospital where they found the real culprits, but not the reason behind them. They don't think it was the pancreatic tumor, but rather all of her pain medications that were causing it.
It was bad news, because the only cure would be to get her off her medications, but that would mean no way to cope with the pain from the other ailments. I was at a party when I heard and ended up having to leave early so that I didn't bring down anyone else. I got home and opened the Bible to Mark 4. Over my years of ignoring the Bible, I had forgotten a lot of references, even though I still knew a lot of quotes and stories.
In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus tells his disciples that he wants them to cross to the other side of a sea. While they're crossing, a storm arose and waves washed over the boat, threatening to sink it. The disciples found Jesus sleeping in the stern, woke Him up, and said, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" Jesus got up, calmed the storm, and then rebuked them for their lack of faith.
Jesus was in the boat with them. How could the disciples believe that God would let Jesus perish along with them? As long as Jesus was there, they were perfectly safe. Jesus wasn't even concerned with the storm, because He knew it had no ability to harm Him. He was taking a nap!
And sometimes, that's how it seems in our lives. We know we have Jesus on our side, but it just feels like the storms of life are about to overwhelm us and, instead of lending a hand or just calming the storms, Jesus is snoozing in the stern. It is but a trial of our faith, for God is still in the boat with us. He doesn't have to be - Jesus could have walked on water or teleported as He did later - but He chooses to be, and as long as He is in the boat with us, no storm in life can sink us.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Prodigal Son and His Elder Brother, Part 3
The elder brother is not talked about too often. People love the feel-good story of the younger brother and seem to ignore the elder one. The problem is that I believe the story was told at least as much for their sakes as for the sinners' and tax collectors' sakes.
In the two parables before this, a shepherd loses a sheep, goes out to look for it, finds it, and brings it back; and a woman loses a coin, searches her whole house for it, and finds it. Both stories end with celebrations over the lost object being found. This parable has those same elements, but doesn't end with the feast. The elder brother refuses to go in. In those days, eating with someone was a sign of unity and togetherness. The elder brother is separating himself from the father because of how the father is treating the younger brother.
When the father goes out to plead with the elder brother, something that he was not required to do at all, we see the elder brother's heart. He says that he has served the father faithfully all his life, never once doing anything wrong, and yet feels he was given nothing. He then points out that the father is now giving a grand feast to welcome back "this son of yours" (he refuses to even acknowledge him as his own brother), despite what the son has done. He's saying that he deserves more than the younger brother because he has served the father. He, too, is after the father's things and not serving the father because of a love for the father. His goal for his service seems to be getting a young goat to eat so he can have a small party with his friends, rather than enjoying being with the father. Service has become a way for him to earn things and not a way to show his love.
Essentially, he, too, is saying he wishes the father were dead so he could have his things.
The father here responds with as much grace and kindness as he did when his younger son said the same thing. He doesn't dispute the son's claim to perfection, though we know that no one save Christ has ever been perfect. This was done to show the Pharisees that even were a man perfect in the law, he can be separated from God if his motives are not to love and serve God from that love, but to get things from God. The Pharisees all knew they had sinned and so were worse than this son, yet the message that the son was separated from the father still was unmistakable.
The father then goes on to say that, because the son is with the father, all that the father has was always his. He could have simply asked for the goat to celebrate with his friends. He probably could have had the fatted calf if he'd wanted it. He could have had money or property, too. The father didn't withhold anything from him. "All that I have is yours." The father was still offering both his presence and all that the son was working for.
Notice also, that the father never said, "Because you served me so well," or, "If you continue to serve me," he said, "Son, you are always with me." That was the only requirement to get what he wanted, to be with God. The son's right to the father's things was an act of grace on the father's part and not due to any service the son had performed or any disgrace he had shunned.
It was his pride and self-righteousness, though, that were separating him from the father's feast. He thought he had more of a right to the father's things than his younger brother did. The Bible doesn't say this specifically, but you get the feeling that the elder brother, had he been in charge would have either made the younger brother grovel and beg and plead for forgiveness or dismissed him altogether and, if the younger brother had been accepted, that it would not have been the full acceptance of a son, but the semi-acceptance of an unworthy indentured servant.
A lot of us have been in the church for a long time, some of us since we were children. Some of us can tend to side with the elder brother because we haven't gone through a stage of raucous partying, have been saving ourselves for marriage, haven't dismissed God, haven't gotten into trouble with the law, haven't tried drugs, and have honestly tried to live according to the Scriptures. If our motives for doing or not doing these things are so that God will bless us, we are just as lost as those who have gone and lived however they wanted. We may be even more lost, for when we view ourselves as righteous because of our works, we mean that we view those who have not matched our works as unrighteous and, therefore, as less worthy than we are. We look down on those who have fallen, particularly on those who should have known better.
In doing so, we separate ourselves from God and his loving mercy. The Lord's prayer says, "And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us." There is no room for unforgiveness for a true Christian. That doesn't mean a true Christian has to be everyone's doormat and can't stand up for themselves, but no one will ever sin against you as much as you have sinned against the Father. He has forgiven you willingly and eagerly and you are to forgive others just as willingly.
Furthermore, notice that the first two parables had one element that the third one did not: a search for what was missing. The shepherd searched for his sheep and the woman searched for her coin. There is no search in the third parable, but there should have been. The elder brother should have gone out after his younger brother and tried to bring him back. His pride made it impossible to love his younger brother as he should have, though. His self-righteousness made him feel that he and he alone deserved the father's blessings, and so the son who rejected the father had no right anymore to anything. In truth, neither the holy or sinner deserves anything from God, for none of us are truly holy and, when we think we are, we prove conclusively that we're not.
If you are an elder brother type, put away your pride and self-righteousness. Remember the times that you have rebelled against the Father. Think of how your world has been changed by His mercy and kindness. Remember that He owes you nothing, that "all of [your] works are as filthy rags." You are his child only because of His mercy, and you are dependent on Christ just as much as someone who has been a drug-addicted prostitute who's had multiple abortions, just as much as a child-molesting murderer.
If you are an elder brother type, remember how wonderful it is to be with God. And how much the younger brothers are suffering out in the world. It may look like they have it all, but without God, they really have a huge hole in their lives. The wages of sin is death. They have no future, no hope, no chance if they don't receive Christ.
If you're a younger brother type, remember how great the cost of salvation was and avoid turning into an elder brother. "For by grace you were saved through faith..." It is not anything you have done or could ever do that saved you and, because of that love shown, you should try to live as God wants you to rather than repenting only when at the end of yourself.
In the two parables before this, a shepherd loses a sheep, goes out to look for it, finds it, and brings it back; and a woman loses a coin, searches her whole house for it, and finds it. Both stories end with celebrations over the lost object being found. This parable has those same elements, but doesn't end with the feast. The elder brother refuses to go in. In those days, eating with someone was a sign of unity and togetherness. The elder brother is separating himself from the father because of how the father is treating the younger brother.
When the father goes out to plead with the elder brother, something that he was not required to do at all, we see the elder brother's heart. He says that he has served the father faithfully all his life, never once doing anything wrong, and yet feels he was given nothing. He then points out that the father is now giving a grand feast to welcome back "this son of yours" (he refuses to even acknowledge him as his own brother), despite what the son has done. He's saying that he deserves more than the younger brother because he has served the father. He, too, is after the father's things and not serving the father because of a love for the father. His goal for his service seems to be getting a young goat to eat so he can have a small party with his friends, rather than enjoying being with the father. Service has become a way for him to earn things and not a way to show his love.
Essentially, he, too, is saying he wishes the father were dead so he could have his things.
The father here responds with as much grace and kindness as he did when his younger son said the same thing. He doesn't dispute the son's claim to perfection, though we know that no one save Christ has ever been perfect. This was done to show the Pharisees that even were a man perfect in the law, he can be separated from God if his motives are not to love and serve God from that love, but to get things from God. The Pharisees all knew they had sinned and so were worse than this son, yet the message that the son was separated from the father still was unmistakable.
The father then goes on to say that, because the son is with the father, all that the father has was always his. He could have simply asked for the goat to celebrate with his friends. He probably could have had the fatted calf if he'd wanted it. He could have had money or property, too. The father didn't withhold anything from him. "All that I have is yours." The father was still offering both his presence and all that the son was working for.
Notice also, that the father never said, "Because you served me so well," or, "If you continue to serve me," he said, "Son, you are always with me." That was the only requirement to get what he wanted, to be with God. The son's right to the father's things was an act of grace on the father's part and not due to any service the son had performed or any disgrace he had shunned.
It was his pride and self-righteousness, though, that were separating him from the father's feast. He thought he had more of a right to the father's things than his younger brother did. The Bible doesn't say this specifically, but you get the feeling that the elder brother, had he been in charge would have either made the younger brother grovel and beg and plead for forgiveness or dismissed him altogether and, if the younger brother had been accepted, that it would not have been the full acceptance of a son, but the semi-acceptance of an unworthy indentured servant.
A lot of us have been in the church for a long time, some of us since we were children. Some of us can tend to side with the elder brother because we haven't gone through a stage of raucous partying, have been saving ourselves for marriage, haven't dismissed God, haven't gotten into trouble with the law, haven't tried drugs, and have honestly tried to live according to the Scriptures. If our motives for doing or not doing these things are so that God will bless us, we are just as lost as those who have gone and lived however they wanted. We may be even more lost, for when we view ourselves as righteous because of our works, we mean that we view those who have not matched our works as unrighteous and, therefore, as less worthy than we are. We look down on those who have fallen, particularly on those who should have known better.
In doing so, we separate ourselves from God and his loving mercy. The Lord's prayer says, "And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us." There is no room for unforgiveness for a true Christian. That doesn't mean a true Christian has to be everyone's doormat and can't stand up for themselves, but no one will ever sin against you as much as you have sinned against the Father. He has forgiven you willingly and eagerly and you are to forgive others just as willingly.
Furthermore, notice that the first two parables had one element that the third one did not: a search for what was missing. The shepherd searched for his sheep and the woman searched for her coin. There is no search in the third parable, but there should have been. The elder brother should have gone out after his younger brother and tried to bring him back. His pride made it impossible to love his younger brother as he should have, though. His self-righteousness made him feel that he and he alone deserved the father's blessings, and so the son who rejected the father had no right anymore to anything. In truth, neither the holy or sinner deserves anything from God, for none of us are truly holy and, when we think we are, we prove conclusively that we're not.
If you are an elder brother type, put away your pride and self-righteousness. Remember the times that you have rebelled against the Father. Think of how your world has been changed by His mercy and kindness. Remember that He owes you nothing, that "all of [your] works are as filthy rags." You are his child only because of His mercy, and you are dependent on Christ just as much as someone who has been a drug-addicted prostitute who's had multiple abortions, just as much as a child-molesting murderer.
If you are an elder brother type, remember how wonderful it is to be with God. And how much the younger brothers are suffering out in the world. It may look like they have it all, but without God, they really have a huge hole in their lives. The wages of sin is death. They have no future, no hope, no chance if they don't receive Christ.
If you're a younger brother type, remember how great the cost of salvation was and avoid turning into an elder brother. "For by grace you were saved through faith..." It is not anything you have done or could ever do that saved you and, because of that love shown, you should try to live as God wants you to rather than repenting only when at the end of yourself.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Prodigal Son and His Elder Brother, Part 2
The prodigal son is one of the most famous characters in Jesus' parables. He is, in many ways, like a lot of younger siblings: perhaps a little spoiled, has a sense of entitlement, doesn't like rules, and doesn't respect authority. He does perhaps the worst thing he can to his father outside of actually killing him: he says he wishes his father were dead so he could have his inheritance. If you have children, imagine them coming to you and saying they can't wait for you to die so they can get your stuff. It's a powerful expression of greed and a lack of love to say that, but that's just what this son does.
The father, who, of course, represents God, doesn't disown his son as he has the right to do, doesn't yell at him, doesn't try to change his mind, and doesn't even mention his disappointment or the shame it's caused him. God does that with us. He won't force us to stay with Him or love Him. If we wish to go our own way to try to make it on our own in the world with the gifts He's given us, He'll let us go.
Instead of using his inheritance to settle down, buy some land, get married, and start a family, the younger son spends it selfishly on parties and women. We don't know how long he was able to survive or how wild he really was, but he led a Dionysian lifestyle until he ran out of funds. We don't know if he thought about his father and brother during this time at all, but he never returned to them. He was partying and focused on himself.
Eventually, though, he was forced to stop when he ran out of money. He was dirt broke and apparently hadn't acquired much in the way of marketable skills, either, because the best job he could find was feeding pigs. The job paid so little that he was jealous of what he was feeding the pigs. Finally, he comes to the end of himself. His pride is broken. He realizes how far he's fallen and how in need he is of something better.
That is when he starts thinking of the father. The interesting point is that he didn't think of how much he missed and loved his father. He didn't think of how badly he had wronged his father and needed to make things right. He thought of food. He remembered that his father's servants had plenty of food and that was his motivation for returning. Even when he was doing the right thing, he was only able to do it for selfish motives.
That's how we treat God a lot of the time. There's a story of a professor who gave notoriously difficult tests. One time, he began the class after the exam with this statement, "God thanked me the other day for the test I gave you. He said He hadn't heard from many of you in years." God knows that, without Him, the world is too powerful for us, that we will come to the end of ourselves, and that that is what we need to turn to Him.
The story gets even more interesting. The son tries to offer himself to the father as a hired hand. He was finally willing to serve, even if it was only for his own benefit. The father, though, sees him from afar. How was he able to see him? The father was looking for him, hoping he would come back. He runs to his son, overcome with joy. He had to have noticed the son's needs, seen his bare feet, looked at his gaunt and haggard body, smelled the stench of pigs on him. His son was doubtless absolutely filthy and disgusting. The father didn't care. He falls on his neck and kisses him.
The son then starts his speech of repentance, but the father doesn't even seem to hear him. Through this, the father has ignored how fallen his son has become, ignored the pain of his own loss through the years, even ignored the repentance of his son. All that mattered was that the prodigal son had returned. There was no demand made of what his son had been up to; no chastisement or punishment for blowing the inheritance on wild parties and prostitutes; no waiting for an apology or groveling; no sense of disgust at what his son had become and how far he had fallen; and no requirement to pay back what he had spent. There was only love and joy.
No matter what any of you have done, no matter how far you have fallen, there is God waiting for you, eagerly hoping you turn to Him. He is waiting to embrace you, even in your worst state. He won't make you pay Him back for all the wrong you've done, you couldn't even if you tried. He won't yell at you for what you've done or make you feel like a horrible person. He doesn't even want you to make yourself feel like a horrible person.
When the father cuts him off, he starts seeing to the needs of the younger son. He brings a robe to cover him and a ring so he can buy and sell in the family's name and sandals for his bare feet. These things far exceeded the son's needs and expectations and welcomed him back wholeheartedly into the father's house. The father feeds the son with a feast, inviting all his neighbors. The father isn't concerned at all about what the feast is costing him or what his son had cost him. There is only the fact that the son has returned.
For many people reading that story, they think salvation is free and restoration to Christ is a gift. To an extent, that is true. It is free for us. But the other side is the high cost to God. When the father welcomed his son back, he made him an heir again. He gave him the rights to sign contracts in the family's name again. He made his resources his son's resources, too. That was after all he had given his son.
For God, the cost was much greater. It was the life of Jesus, His Son, tortured and beaten and killed for us.
There are those who have the attitude of, "I know I'm wrong, but I'll just get saved later. If salvation is free and it doesn't matter what I've done, then why lose my freedom earlier than I have to?" Others, who have become Christians, think, "I'm forgiven no matter what I do and God already knows what I will do, so I'll just do what I want and repent later." Neither viewpoint is one of love for God and respect for the cost of our salvation. It is saying that God doesn't matter, nor what He gave up to pay for our sins, only that we are safe from hell. It would be like the son coming back, being welcomed into the family, then immediately asking for money so he could go back and live his old lifestyle a bit more. He'd be spitting on his father's mercy and kindness.
Yes, once we give our lives to Christ, we are forgiven no matter what we do, but it is because that forgiveness was so expensive that we should strive to need as little of it as possible once we're saved. We're never going to be perfect and we're not saved through our works, but we honor God and show Him love by honoring the sacrifice He made for us. We turn from being prodigal sons into loving sons...
Or into elder brothers, which we will look at tomorrow.
The father, who, of course, represents God, doesn't disown his son as he has the right to do, doesn't yell at him, doesn't try to change his mind, and doesn't even mention his disappointment or the shame it's caused him. God does that with us. He won't force us to stay with Him or love Him. If we wish to go our own way to try to make it on our own in the world with the gifts He's given us, He'll let us go.
Instead of using his inheritance to settle down, buy some land, get married, and start a family, the younger son spends it selfishly on parties and women. We don't know how long he was able to survive or how wild he really was, but he led a Dionysian lifestyle until he ran out of funds. We don't know if he thought about his father and brother during this time at all, but he never returned to them. He was partying and focused on himself.
Eventually, though, he was forced to stop when he ran out of money. He was dirt broke and apparently hadn't acquired much in the way of marketable skills, either, because the best job he could find was feeding pigs. The job paid so little that he was jealous of what he was feeding the pigs. Finally, he comes to the end of himself. His pride is broken. He realizes how far he's fallen and how in need he is of something better.
That is when he starts thinking of the father. The interesting point is that he didn't think of how much he missed and loved his father. He didn't think of how badly he had wronged his father and needed to make things right. He thought of food. He remembered that his father's servants had plenty of food and that was his motivation for returning. Even when he was doing the right thing, he was only able to do it for selfish motives.
That's how we treat God a lot of the time. There's a story of a professor who gave notoriously difficult tests. One time, he began the class after the exam with this statement, "God thanked me the other day for the test I gave you. He said He hadn't heard from many of you in years." God knows that, without Him, the world is too powerful for us, that we will come to the end of ourselves, and that that is what we need to turn to Him.
The story gets even more interesting. The son tries to offer himself to the father as a hired hand. He was finally willing to serve, even if it was only for his own benefit. The father, though, sees him from afar. How was he able to see him? The father was looking for him, hoping he would come back. He runs to his son, overcome with joy. He had to have noticed the son's needs, seen his bare feet, looked at his gaunt and haggard body, smelled the stench of pigs on him. His son was doubtless absolutely filthy and disgusting. The father didn't care. He falls on his neck and kisses him.
The son then starts his speech of repentance, but the father doesn't even seem to hear him. Through this, the father has ignored how fallen his son has become, ignored the pain of his own loss through the years, even ignored the repentance of his son. All that mattered was that the prodigal son had returned. There was no demand made of what his son had been up to; no chastisement or punishment for blowing the inheritance on wild parties and prostitutes; no waiting for an apology or groveling; no sense of disgust at what his son had become and how far he had fallen; and no requirement to pay back what he had spent. There was only love and joy.
No matter what any of you have done, no matter how far you have fallen, there is God waiting for you, eagerly hoping you turn to Him. He is waiting to embrace you, even in your worst state. He won't make you pay Him back for all the wrong you've done, you couldn't even if you tried. He won't yell at you for what you've done or make you feel like a horrible person. He doesn't even want you to make yourself feel like a horrible person.
When the father cuts him off, he starts seeing to the needs of the younger son. He brings a robe to cover him and a ring so he can buy and sell in the family's name and sandals for his bare feet. These things far exceeded the son's needs and expectations and welcomed him back wholeheartedly into the father's house. The father feeds the son with a feast, inviting all his neighbors. The father isn't concerned at all about what the feast is costing him or what his son had cost him. There is only the fact that the son has returned.
For many people reading that story, they think salvation is free and restoration to Christ is a gift. To an extent, that is true. It is free for us. But the other side is the high cost to God. When the father welcomed his son back, he made him an heir again. He gave him the rights to sign contracts in the family's name again. He made his resources his son's resources, too. That was after all he had given his son.
For God, the cost was much greater. It was the life of Jesus, His Son, tortured and beaten and killed for us.
There are those who have the attitude of, "I know I'm wrong, but I'll just get saved later. If salvation is free and it doesn't matter what I've done, then why lose my freedom earlier than I have to?" Others, who have become Christians, think, "I'm forgiven no matter what I do and God already knows what I will do, so I'll just do what I want and repent later." Neither viewpoint is one of love for God and respect for the cost of our salvation. It is saying that God doesn't matter, nor what He gave up to pay for our sins, only that we are safe from hell. It would be like the son coming back, being welcomed into the family, then immediately asking for money so he could go back and live his old lifestyle a bit more. He'd be spitting on his father's mercy and kindness.
Yes, once we give our lives to Christ, we are forgiven no matter what we do, but it is because that forgiveness was so expensive that we should strive to need as little of it as possible once we're saved. We're never going to be perfect and we're not saved through our works, but we honor God and show Him love by honoring the sacrifice He made for us. We turn from being prodigal sons into loving sons...
Or into elder brothers, which we will look at tomorrow.
Monday, July 20, 2009
The Prodigal Son and Elder Brother, Part 1
There is a book titled The Prodigal God by Tim Keller, in which he discusses the parable of the prodigal son. You've all probably heard it, even if you're outside the church. For those who haven't, it goes something like this:
A man had two sons. One day, the younger son went to the father and asked for his share of the inheritance. The father gave him the money and the son went away, blowing the money on parties, prostitutes, and riotous living. Eventually, he runs out of money, just as a famine hits the land he's in. He hires himself out to a pig farmer and then finds himself jealous of the pigs because they're eating better than he is. He remembers that his father feeds his servants much better and decides to go home and ask the father to hire him, telling him he's no longer worthy to be called his son.
When he gets close to home, the father sees him and runs toward him. The son begins his "I'm not worthy" speech, but the father cuts him off, orders the servants to bring a robe, ring, and sandals, and then orders them to kill the fatted calf and prepare a feast. He welcomes the younger son back to the family with open arms.
For most people, this is where the story ends, but this is only half of it. The elder brother is furious when he hears his brother has been welcomed back. He won't go into the feast, shaming the father in front of what is probably the entire village. The father goes out to plead with him and the elder brother says he thinks he deserves more than he's gotten for how faithfully he's served the father. He demands to know why the younger brother is getting treated like royalty when his own service seems to go unnoticed. The father tells him that all the father owned was already the elder brother's. The story ends without a resolution. We never know if the elder brother relented and went into the feast.
In this post, I'm going to discuss the context of certain elements of the story. In the next, I'll discuss the younger brother. In the last one, I'll discuss the elder brother, who is the least understood and talked about character in this parable.
First, this parable is directed toward both sinners and the Pharisees. In Luke 15, it says Jesus' audience was tax collectors, sinners, Pharisees, and scribes. The first two were outside the synagogue and the latter two were pillars of the synagogue, the unrighteous and the righteous. The younger brother represents the sinner and the elder represents the Pharisees.
Next, the father had a right to disown the younger son for his request. The younger son basically told his father that he wishes the father were dead so he could have his things. It was a horrible slap in the face, particularly in such a patriarchal society. Also, most wealth then was tied to the land and livestock. It wasn't easy to get at like today with stock markets and bank accounts. The father had to sell a third (the eldest son was entitled to a double share of the inheritance, so he got two thirds and the younger got one) of his property to meet the younger son's request.
When the younger son has to feed pigs, that was rock bottom for that culture. Pigs were unclean animals in Jewish society. The son had come to the end of himself and sunk as low as he could have fallen.
When the father runs toward him, that also would have shocked the listeners. Running was for women and children and sometimes for young men. Patriarchs did not run. But this father is so excited that he does. He calls for the best robe, which would have been an unmistakable public sign that he was in the family again; a ring, which was how they signed contracts back then, thus giving the son legal authority in the family again; and sandals, which is significant because only members of the household had sandals. Servants went barefoot.
The fatted calf was a prize possession, saved only for the greatest events. Meat was uncommon back then at meals because of how expensive it was. Killing the fatted calf meant the father couldn't have been happier about his son's return. It also meant a village feast, since the calf would have fed 75-100 people.
The elder son also could have been disowned for shaming his father. He was refusing to take part in what his father did and this was a very public humiliation.
Both sons deserved to be disowned. The father disowns neither of them, but invites them into the feast. Next time, we'll look at the younger brother, his descent, repentance, and restoration.
A man had two sons. One day, the younger son went to the father and asked for his share of the inheritance. The father gave him the money and the son went away, blowing the money on parties, prostitutes, and riotous living. Eventually, he runs out of money, just as a famine hits the land he's in. He hires himself out to a pig farmer and then finds himself jealous of the pigs because they're eating better than he is. He remembers that his father feeds his servants much better and decides to go home and ask the father to hire him, telling him he's no longer worthy to be called his son.
When he gets close to home, the father sees him and runs toward him. The son begins his "I'm not worthy" speech, but the father cuts him off, orders the servants to bring a robe, ring, and sandals, and then orders them to kill the fatted calf and prepare a feast. He welcomes the younger son back to the family with open arms.
For most people, this is where the story ends, but this is only half of it. The elder brother is furious when he hears his brother has been welcomed back. He won't go into the feast, shaming the father in front of what is probably the entire village. The father goes out to plead with him and the elder brother says he thinks he deserves more than he's gotten for how faithfully he's served the father. He demands to know why the younger brother is getting treated like royalty when his own service seems to go unnoticed. The father tells him that all the father owned was already the elder brother's. The story ends without a resolution. We never know if the elder brother relented and went into the feast.
In this post, I'm going to discuss the context of certain elements of the story. In the next, I'll discuss the younger brother. In the last one, I'll discuss the elder brother, who is the least understood and talked about character in this parable.
First, this parable is directed toward both sinners and the Pharisees. In Luke 15, it says Jesus' audience was tax collectors, sinners, Pharisees, and scribes. The first two were outside the synagogue and the latter two were pillars of the synagogue, the unrighteous and the righteous. The younger brother represents the sinner and the elder represents the Pharisees.
Next, the father had a right to disown the younger son for his request. The younger son basically told his father that he wishes the father were dead so he could have his things. It was a horrible slap in the face, particularly in such a patriarchal society. Also, most wealth then was tied to the land and livestock. It wasn't easy to get at like today with stock markets and bank accounts. The father had to sell a third (the eldest son was entitled to a double share of the inheritance, so he got two thirds and the younger got one) of his property to meet the younger son's request.
When the younger son has to feed pigs, that was rock bottom for that culture. Pigs were unclean animals in Jewish society. The son had come to the end of himself and sunk as low as he could have fallen.
When the father runs toward him, that also would have shocked the listeners. Running was for women and children and sometimes for young men. Patriarchs did not run. But this father is so excited that he does. He calls for the best robe, which would have been an unmistakable public sign that he was in the family again; a ring, which was how they signed contracts back then, thus giving the son legal authority in the family again; and sandals, which is significant because only members of the household had sandals. Servants went barefoot.
The fatted calf was a prize possession, saved only for the greatest events. Meat was uncommon back then at meals because of how expensive it was. Killing the fatted calf meant the father couldn't have been happier about his son's return. It also meant a village feast, since the calf would have fed 75-100 people.
The elder son also could have been disowned for shaming his father. He was refusing to take part in what his father did and this was a very public humiliation.
Both sons deserved to be disowned. The father disowns neither of them, but invites them into the feast. Next time, we'll look at the younger brother, his descent, repentance, and restoration.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Daydreams and Peace
Ok, so we all catch ourselves daydreaming at least once in a while. We imagine ourselves getting that big promotion, meeting that special someone, winning the lottery, or we do a little revisionist history on what if we had just done this instead of that. These daydreams all seem to have one thing in common, though: they are about US. They are about our wants, our fantasies, our hopes. At best, they include our families and friends; at worst, they don't even include our morals or respect for the others in the daydreams.
In short, there is no God in our daydreams. We don't daydream of people getting saved in droves or getting healed. We don't imagine people sharing their testimonies in front of their congregations and encouraging their brothers and sisters in Christ. We don't see in our mind's eye people giving glory to God. Even when we picture what we are getting for ourselves, how often in our daydreams are we giving God the glory for it?
When we talk to others about what's going on in our lives, do we mention God? The Bible says in Luke 6:34, "A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart." Another translation ends, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." What you think about and what is truly important to you is what will naturally flow out of you in conversation.
Is it wrong then to ever discuss anything other than God? Of course not. God knows we have struggles and trials and temptations; He knows even better than we do what we're going through. But God should be in our hearts. He should be coming out when we speak.
It is when we put our trust in Him, when He is the delight and the first desire of our hearts that He will give us the desires of our heart. And when that happens, we get more of Him! We get more of the "peace that passes all understanding". We get more of the unending, undeserved, and pure. We get closer to Him and to His will for our lives.
We can't know what real pure love is outside of Christ. We can't love with that love apart from His strengthening us to do so and flowing through us. We can't love others nearly as much when we put them first as when we put God first. God enables us to love others as He loves them because His love is pure and does not seek it's own end.
All of our selfish daydreams are foolish. They are foolish because if they are not God's will for us, we will not be as happy with them as we would be in God's will. I'm not saying that for those in God's will, the ride is always smooth and paved with rose petals. Jesus told Peter that Peter would be crucified. Paul was beaten and imprisoned regularly. But they both knew the joy that comes by being close to God.
Also, regardless of what happens to us on earth, good or bad, there is Heaven awaiting us, where all of our wildest dreams will seem but moldy crumbs compared to the steak set before us. God wants the best for us and wants us to be blessed, both on earth and in Heaven, but our purpose on this earth is not to seek our own gain, whether that gain is financial, relationships, power, or anything else. Our goal on earth is to seek to give Him praise and to follow Him in the will He has for our lives. Our daydreams should be of walking ever closer with Him and about our dependence on Him for even our next breath.
In short, there is no God in our daydreams. We don't daydream of people getting saved in droves or getting healed. We don't imagine people sharing their testimonies in front of their congregations and encouraging their brothers and sisters in Christ. We don't see in our mind's eye people giving glory to God. Even when we picture what we are getting for ourselves, how often in our daydreams are we giving God the glory for it?
When we talk to others about what's going on in our lives, do we mention God? The Bible says in Luke 6:34, "A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart." Another translation ends, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." What you think about and what is truly important to you is what will naturally flow out of you in conversation.
Is it wrong then to ever discuss anything other than God? Of course not. God knows we have struggles and trials and temptations; He knows even better than we do what we're going through. But God should be in our hearts. He should be coming out when we speak.
It is when we put our trust in Him, when He is the delight and the first desire of our hearts that He will give us the desires of our heart. And when that happens, we get more of Him! We get more of the "peace that passes all understanding". We get more of the unending, undeserved, and pure. We get closer to Him and to His will for our lives.
We can't know what real pure love is outside of Christ. We can't love with that love apart from His strengthening us to do so and flowing through us. We can't love others nearly as much when we put them first as when we put God first. God enables us to love others as He loves them because His love is pure and does not seek it's own end.
All of our selfish daydreams are foolish. They are foolish because if they are not God's will for us, we will not be as happy with them as we would be in God's will. I'm not saying that for those in God's will, the ride is always smooth and paved with rose petals. Jesus told Peter that Peter would be crucified. Paul was beaten and imprisoned regularly. But they both knew the joy that comes by being close to God.
Also, regardless of what happens to us on earth, good or bad, there is Heaven awaiting us, where all of our wildest dreams will seem but moldy crumbs compared to the steak set before us. God wants the best for us and wants us to be blessed, both on earth and in Heaven, but our purpose on this earth is not to seek our own gain, whether that gain is financial, relationships, power, or anything else. Our goal on earth is to seek to give Him praise and to follow Him in the will He has for our lives. Our daydreams should be of walking ever closer with Him and about our dependence on Him for even our next breath.
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