|
And this is the description Jesus gave concerning the youngest son of the parable. Needless to say, there has been countless sermons and Bible studies and blessings come from the "Parable of the Prodigal Son". However, for the purpose of this lesson, I would like to examine this account from a slightly different view point; --- thus the title: "The Prodigal's Father" I'm persuaded for instance, there's a great deal more inferences on the FORGIVENESS and the LOVINGKINDNESS of the father, than there is on the nature and character of the son. I would be quick to say, at the same time that neither aspect of this parable should be overlooked or minimized. I would like to take just a moment to ask YOU; --- What do you think about God? I mean, how do you feel about Him PERSONALLY?? I feel that it is extremely important that we emphasize the fact that; ---Even though people might be all grown up and mature, that they still have the right having become born of the "water and Spirit"; (Christians,) (Jno. 3:5) ; --- to look upon their Father with that same simple trust and confidence as they could while they were still innocent, sinless children. And I believe the parable of "The Prodigal's Father" will show this to be so. So with this thought in mind, I would like to point out several things about the Father in this parable; --- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. The Father's Attitude: Now this boy had gone to his father in what would seem to be an ARROGANT frame of mind, and a SELFISH frame of mind and asked Him for his share of the inheritance at this particular point. We need to understand that the son was asking for his inheritance early, to understand the point I want to make now; --- Which simply stated, is that this boy is telling his father that his father wasn't dying soon enough to suit him. In effect saying; --- "Father, you would have done me a great favor had you been thoughtful enough to die a little earlier so that I wouldn't have to go to all the trouble of asking for my inheritance; --- But since you'll not die for me, would you please just let me have my inheritance now, so that I can go out and live the kind of life I want to and get you out of my hair!!" --- And that's the kind of attitude in which the father was treated! Now, the boy went out and didn't waste any time spending his money foolishly and he fell about as far as I suppose any Jewish boy could fall. Note: --- The wise man said; --- "He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough!" (Prov. 28:19) --- Now a Jew does not like to be associated with SWINE, and this boy ended up "slopping the hogs"! And since a Jew would not own swine, I can only assume that this boy was under the employment of a GENTILE; --- another humiliation for a Jew. And on top of that, the swine were eating better than he was; --- an additional humiliation. But he finally comes to his senses, the Scripture says; --- and he realized that the hired servants of his father were much better off than he. And that he actually envied the swine who were eating the pods he was charged with feeding them. And the time had come for him to "make amends", if there was any way for him to do so. --- And so he begins his journey home, to his father. The prodigal rehearses exactly what he wants to say to his father. Now with regard to his father; --- Look at (Vs.20); --- "And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him"; --- And HOW did his father see him? Someone might theorize that it may have been his BROTHER out there looking for the boy to come home; --- But I think that's not the case. Look over in (Vs. 28-29); --- "But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to [his] father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends." We can readily see here that the older son was very resentful which leads me to seriously doubt he would be out there scanning the horizon day by day, looking for his brother to come home. On the contrary; --- If there was anyone looking over the horizon for the son to come home, it was the FATHER HIMSELF!! And the Bible indicates that BEFORE the prodigal son got to the father, the father saw him. And therefore we must conclude that the father must have been looking carefully and longingly that the child who had left him; --- HOPING he would return home. Then when the father did see him, His attitude was NOT what I suppose many fathers attitudes are on such occasions; --- Haven't many of us fathers experienced the kind of feeling; --- "Well, at least he's learned his lesson, and it serves him right; --- I'm glad he's suffered the discomfort he has and it gives me a great amount of satisfaction to know that my judgment has been proven right; --- and that this juvenile delinquent is going to have to come to me and "undo" himself before me, before I'll have anything to do with him??" Now, there's no question about the fact that humbling oneself and asking for forgiveness is very important; In fact the Bible says it's ESSENTIAL for the forgiveness of sins. You might recall in (Acts 8:22); --- Peter told Simon the sorcerer; --- "Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you." But the basic attitude of the father was not one of vengeful hatefulness toward his children who have turned away from him; --- insulted him and told him in effect; he wished he would die! NO! --- The Bible says the father had compassion; --- COMPASSION!! (Compassion; --- means to have passion or feeling with); --- It is to say; --- "I can feel what you feel and I can sympathize for you with feeling and understanding!" In other words; --- what I'm trying to say; --- This father put himself in that boys shoes. Now there's a sense of course that each of us can understand that this HAS been done, in that while we were yet sinners, God sent Jesus Christ to the world to die on the cross for us. Jesus took our place!! But here, the principal discussion is about the father Himself, and the Bible says that he was looking for his son; --- But he wasn't looking for the son hoping that the son would suffer greater harm and humiliation, and that the father would enjoy "rubbing it in". On the contrary; --- The Bible states that he had compassion on his wayward son; --- That he KNEW that the boy had made a complete fool of himself; --- He surely was NOT happy about what the boy did, but he just wanted him home! And that was the important thing to this father!! There's an old eastern proverb that goes something like this; --- "Whoever draws near to me (God) an inch, I will draw near to him an "ell" (mile); and whoso walks to meet me, I will leap to him." This expresses the eagerness in which the father ran to meet his son. You might recall in (Gen. 45:14-15);--- where "Joseph fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him. Now, another point in light of (Vs. 20); --- Is that AFTER the boy's father saw his son and felt compassion for him; --- The Bible says; --- The father ran and embraced him and kissed him! (God does not hesitate!!) Some have said; --- "No! I can't visualize that; --- I think of God as being the IMPASSABLE, the IMMOVABLE; --- I think of God as being untouched, when I drift away!" "I can't picture God as reaching out or running to me, feeling the same thing I feel!" "I think of God as having His back turned to me, and I can only think of the necessity of holding to His very feet and begging Him just to notice the fact I've come back!" The Bible says; --- that the father literally RAN to his son, fell on his neck and KISSED him. ---Such love to behold!! Notice: --- The son hadn't even said anything yet. That is, the father felt something for the boy BEFORE the boy said anything to the father!! Now, I would that each of us understand this beautiful attribute about God. We need to give the God of heaven the credit for being as loving toward His erring children as any earthly father would have toward any child he has, --- only infinitely more so! And this is Jesus' message here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now secondly, I'd like for us to take into consideration; --- 2. The State Of The Son: Every now and then we hear talk about the idea which suggests that when one is saved, he must of necessity REMAIN SAVED. In other words; --- "Once saved, always saved". Let me hasten to point out that according to (Lk. 15:), this doctrine can NOT be true!! You might say; --- "Oh, but a lot of people believe it!" Interestingly enough, there are some people on this planet today who believe the earth is FLAT. There are many intelligent people who do not believe the USA has actually put men on the moon; --- They say, it's all a hoax. And there are all sorts of people who do not believe many things which are self-evident. But friends, the fact of the matter is that the MAJORITY of opinion on anything does not necessarily decide the matter. --- A plain statement from the inspired word of God is what decides matters; --- particularly in matters of religious doctrine. And if you will look into (Lk. 15:24); --- The son came back, the father had compassion, ran to him and embraced him and kissed him; --- and the father says; --- "for this my son was DEAD and is alive again; ---he was LOST and is found." --- He was LOST!! Question: Can a child of God so sin as to be lost?? Well, who does the father in this parable represent? Obviously, God! Who does the son represent? Again the answer is self-evident; --- The son was a child of God, the Father!! It's NOT a question of him never truly having become a son; --- He WAS a son of the father who had become rebellious and disrespectful to his father; --- He had turned away from God!! (Vs. 18); --- "Father, I have sinned against heaven (God) and before you,) And the FATHER said; --- He was LOST! (A plain statement!) The same idea is again stated in (Lk.15:32); --- 'It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' The older brother had to be told; --- "You ought to be happy and rejoice; --- You just don't seem to realize what a serious situation your younger brother had gotten himself into!" Now the older brother might have been inclined to say; --- "Now father, I don't see why we should be making such a big deal over my brother coming home; --- After all, even though he drifted away, he's still one of us; --- SAVED!! NO! The father said; --- 'Son, you don't understand, your brother was LOST, --- He was DEAD; --- And now he's back. And I want us to realize that many of our denominational friends have freely and sincerely accepted this extreme position that once a person is saved, he is saved forever. (Lk. 15:23, 32 and many other Scriptures (1 Cor. 10:12, Rom. 11:20-23, Gal. 5:2-4) denies this. Now, while I believe this extreme position can not be accepted in light of TRUTH; --- I would have us turn our attention to another extreme for a moment. I would like to ask if it's not possible that some who are members of the Lord's church have accepted and promoted the other extreme on occasion?? Which is that the child of God is not bound to be saved, but under almost any circumstance that child of God is bound to be LOST! I've known some brothers and sisters in Christ who live under the general opinion that no matter what; --- they are just NOT going to be saved! --- They have serious doubts of ever going to heaven come the Judgment Day! Perhaps some of you may have this feeling, or knows someone else who does have this rather pessimistic outlook in regards to their eternal future; --- by virtue of the fact, we're all are just hanging on by our fingertips; --- And there's a strong likelihood that at the very last moment God will come running and stomp on our fingers and knock us off the ledge and straight into eternal damnation!! And the Lord's just waiting for the chance to do just that!! Consequently we observe some of our brethren having at times a rather unhappy, despondent disposition; --- an sense of constant guilt and heaviness of heart!! That, in spite the fact that the Bible says that when we are baptized into Christ that God the Father BLOTS OUT all past sins! (Acts 2:38, Rom. 6:3-5, etc.) And not only is that so, but (1 Jno. 1:7) says; --- "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." But someone says; --- "Oh! That's the point! --- The point is (they say), that salvation remains ours after we've been baptized (IF) we are walking in the light; --- and walking in the light (to them) means walking WITHOUT SIN! --- i.e. Living perfectly!" And we know we do not live perfectly, because farther on down in the same chapter (Vs. 10), John says; ---"If we say that we have NOT sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." And in (1 Jno. 2:1-2) we read; --- "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you MAY NOT sin. And IF anyone SINS, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins,---" As someone so well put it; --- "We have fought so pointedly against the UNCRIPTURALNESS of the doctrine that teaches that once a person is saved, he is always saved and CANNOT be lost; --- That we have run past Jerusalem, and right on into the Dead Sea!" --- By believing that the God we serve, --- The Father who is over us is pretty well determined that most of us is not going to make it into heaven; --- And He's not going to lend us much help as we make the effort; --- And that we really don't have any cause to smile and be happy and talk about SALVATION as a PRESENT REALITY!! I certainly realize that (1 Jno. 1:7) says; --- "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." But I'm also aware at the same time when I look at (Lk. 15:), that this son was LOST. --- This is crystal clear to me! But I want us to take a good close look at the position of that son!! Was he STRIVING to do his Father's will, when he was out there in the world living riotously and squandering his inheritance recklessly and foolishly?? --- NO! It's obvious he wasn't striving even a little bit to please or honor his father or God!! What was his attitude toward the father?? --- He had in effect told his father to go jump in the lake! ---He has defied and rejected absolutely, the authority of the father! --- He had cut himself off and renounced the very name by which he had been called!! --- He wallowed in the mire!! Now is there any difference between this boy's attitude and the one who lives from day to day; ---Sometimes thinking things he ought not to think; --- Sometimes saying things he ought not; --- doing things contrary to the Christian spirit; --- Or maybe even leaving undone some things he ought to do?? And yet this sinful child of God would continue to STRIVE each day to do just a little better; --- To draw just a little bit closer to God; --- Not kidding himself that he's SINLESS, but doing his dead level best to grow stronger in the grace and knowledge of God's word, thereby strengthening his faith and to build his character in subjection to the will of his heavenly Father. Is there any difference in the one who says; --- "I don't want anything to do with the Father; ---And the son on the other hand who says; --- "I'm not worthy to be my Father's son, but I'll stay in His house and lovingly serve Him the best I can?? I submit that if (1 Jno. 1:7), when it said; --- "walking in the light" meant living a perfect, sinless life, that (1 Jno. 1:7) would make absolute non-sense. Beloved, that's NOT what John is telling us!! What the Bible is telling you and me is; --- That when we get to the end of life's journey, we're not going to be able to look back across the years and say; --- "See! I dotted every "I" and crossed every "T"; --- I lived perfectly; --- consequently the Lord is bound to save me!! No, what we're going to look back over and see, is a muddled mess of mistakes, errors and shortcomings; and every now and then we'll see some "bright spot" and think to ourselves; --- "Well, in those few moments I was what I ought to have been!!" --- "But I earnestly tried, and I was making a sincere effort; --- And I did NOT turn away from my Father!" --- I asked Him for continuing mercy, and He gave it to me; --- Not by my own personal achievements, but because of His endless love and grace, He continually shed His grace and forgiveness upon me as I prayed and asked Him daily in godly repentance!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3. The Other Son: Remember the other son in (Lk. 15:) ?? Was his attitude everything it was supposed to be? --- Did he have any faults? --- Much less, was he perfect?? When you look at the parable of the prodigal, do you say to yourself; --- "Now this is a story about two boys; --- one was perfect and the other was not"?? NO!! In (Lk. 15:28), the Bible says that the other brother was ANGRY; --- His attitude was not right and the father told him so. --- Does this mean that because he committed this one error, he was automatically LOST? NO! In (Vs. 29) The angry son said to his father; --- "Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; ---" (Now here's the sin of pride, as well as being unjustly angry); --- "and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends." (envy also) And yet the father said to him in (vs.31); --- "Son, you are ALWAYS with me, and all that I have is yours." Do you mean to tell me that with some faults and some flaws that my Father in heaven will still claim me?? YES!! --- Thank a merciful God for such love!! --- And for this reason we ought to shout; --- GLORY HALLELUJAH, BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD!! My friends YOU have fallen short and it's for sure, Earl Wilburn has fallen short; --- but this does not mean we are bound to go to hell. --- The son who was lost in this text was the son who said; --- "I'm through with the father, and I don't want anything to do with him!" The son who remained in the fold of his father was not perfect by any means. --- He had a lot to learn and a long way to go; --- but he was still his father's son and his father was willing to say to him; --- "Son, all that I have is yours and you will always be with me!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4. What Is YOUR Attitude Toward God? Do you visualize Him as some "fire-eating dragon", who is just waiting to fling you off into the pits of hell? OR do you think of God as a loving Father who when you, no matter how badly you have repudiated your relationship with Him and perhaps actually put your soul in a LOST condition; --- would willingly come running and embrace you and kiss you and welcome you back into His fold?? Do you have a faith that tells you, you have an Almighty God whose doing everything He can to save you?? (Mt.18:11-13); --- "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? "And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that [sheep] than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. "Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. And do you recognize the fact that as stated in (Heb. 7:25) that; --- "He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." (YOU)?? Do you recall the teachings of Paul in (Rom. 8:26) that says; --- "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."?? Do you dear friend, not realize that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are working day and night for as long as this world stands to make certain to do the very best they can (IF we would just allow them) to prepare the way for us to be at home with them in heaven?? --- Do you rejoice and are you glad in that fact EVERY SINGLE DAY?? OR do you just live under the general concept; --- That everybody else is going, but there's NOT MUCH HOPE FOR ME?? I've known some of my dearest friends who are Christians, who have spent years trying to please God and save others; --- Christians who utterly put me to shame in their work in the Lord's vineyard; --- But they're always torn asunder with doubts and questions about; --- WILL GOD SAVE ME??? One asks; --- "If I go to Hell, will the devil hurt me worse because I tried to save others?" Who told you that you were going to Hell? --- "Well, I just had a feeling that I don't do enough!" QUESTION: --- Do you ask the Lord daily to forgive you of your sins? --- Yes! Do you call on Him and honor Him as your Father? --- Yes! Are you trying to please God? --- Yes! Have you repudiated your relationship with Him? --- No! Then, NOBODY can snatch you out of His hand!! (Rom. 8:34-39); --- "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." My dear brother or sister; --- if this is YOUR description, you need to start thinking about going to heaven, and stop asking yourself such silly questions!! And dear friend; --- if YOU are NOT a child of God; --- God wants you to be; --- So much so that He sent His beloved Son into this world to DIE; --- that through His shed blood, you may have your blackest sins washed whiter than snow; --- through humble obedience in belief, repentance, confession and baptism!! (Mk.16:15-16, Acts 2:38, Rom. 6:3-8, Rom. 10:10) Hear the happy Father say; --- "Bring out the best robe and put [it] on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on [his] feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill [it,] and let us eat and be merry; --- for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." Most humbly submitted for your edification and learning; Earl Wilburn Contact Earl Wilburn: --- ewilburn@austin.rr.com
|
