Scripture: 2 Corinthians5:16-21, Luke 15: 11-32
As Easter comes closer and closer, we consider the
mission that led Jesus to its fulfillment at Calvary. And while the drive behind the Pharisees’
desire to get rid of “Jesus the radical” was founded in fear and hatred, it was
the love of God that enabled Jesus to live out God’s plan of salvation for all
of humanity. And while many folks have
never allowed themselves to experience that love in their own lives, it will
always be revealed when we open ourselves up to the Lord’s incredible love.
But the most interesting part of that love, is that
it is not for us to keep within our own heart!
Rather, it is for us to share with those who have yet to receive it, for
that may be the only way that they will ever understand. From the Lord’s point of view, the time that
He spent among us was all about you and me.
In Romans 8:31-32; 38-39 we
read – “If God is for us, who can be
against us?”. And in John 3:16-17 - 17 For God did not send his
Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through
him.
Our
Lord God has done it all for our benefit, and all that we need to do to receive
God’s gift of salvation, is to simply accept it through faith in Jesus Christ.
Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
When Jesus surrendered His life for us at Calvary,
everything changed. The ways of the
world no longer hold any importance for those who continue to live there. It is certainly the default position for life,
but a life with God is now based on whether you now live in Christ, and He in
you - or not! No longer should we strive
to live the “good life”, for the efforts that we can make can never bring us
even one step closer to God, for now it all centers on the depth of our faith
in Jesus.
The point of faith, is that this is the means for a
total change in our life! When Jesus
surrendered His life at Calvary, He gave up His humanity in sacrifice for our
sin, and His divinity enables everything that we need to live a righteous and
renewed life by faith. All who have given their life to Christ have become a
new creation.
At creation, God made humanity in His own image,
that we would live and serve in the Godly way - unfortunately, sin turned us
away from the Lord and kept us from living in the way of God’s plan! (Genesis 1:26-27) But
now, by faith in the Son of God, we are again seen us as one who lives
in the image we were created for. This
doesn’t mean that faith has made us perfect, but rather, that we are now seen
in the perfection of Christ. This is
what reconciliation by faith will do for us and what it enables us to be, when
we, as the reconciled of God, reach out to the lost and struggling people of
this world, in the name of Jesus.
And we can no longer see others as people confined
in the flesh, for that would be as if Christ had never left His worldly
form. We have changed, and no longer
should be seeing others in a worldly sense or understanding – we need to see
them as God sees, meaning that we must love them in the potentially recreated
form that the Lord once saw us in.
When we see and love and witness through the image of God, others will
experience the love and way of God through us.
This is why our human efforts can never accomplish
what God has promised.
Read Luke 15:11-32
This parable is sometimes referred to as “The
Parable of the Loving Father”, which is actually what the lesson is all
about. But first, let’s consider the
condition of the hearts that exist within the two sons.
The Younger Son.
This is most likely the story of our lives, from the
days of our worldly living until the day we came to our senses, and sought
God’s forgiveness. When this son
demanded his inheritance early in life, there was a significant message behind
it. It was totally disrespectful and
went against all of tradition, as inheritance was, and still is, divided after
a person is no longer living. In demanding
his share early, the young man was, in effect, proclaiming that his father was
no longer living – that as far as the son was concerned, their relationship had
come to an end.
Since there was nothing left for him at home, he
left behind everything that it had ever meant to him, and took up a new
lifestyle that ran counter to all that his life had ever stood for. But he soon came to the realization that this
new way was a total loser, and that it gained him absolutely nothing of value.
As soon as he discovered the truth behind the
decisions that he had made, he began to understand that he had exchanged the
best that life could give him, for the emptiness that had become his choice,
and his heart broke over the difference.
What could he do about it? He
would go to his father, and while he still could, he would seek forgiveness for
his hasty decision, and ask to be reinstated, not to his previous position as a
member of the family, but as a poor and humble servant in his father’s household.
He had wasted his life and all of the blessings that
had once been his as a member of his father’s family.
The Older Son.
He had given
up nothing, and still possessed all of the benefits of being an integral part
of his father’s life. But how did he
treat those benefits? Even though he
still had the affection and presence of his father to guide him, and that the
entire estate would one day be his, he was still jealous of the welcome that
his father showed to the brother who he had grown to hate so much. He saw no purpose in his brother’s return,
and even less in his father’s willingness to receive his youngest back into the
family with no hope whatsoever for a full restoration to his former position.
This son desired only punishment and rejection for
his wayward brother, and totally denied any thought of forgiveness and
reconciliation.
The Father
While it isn’t actually mentioned in the story, the
father must have been heartbroken when his youngest denied all of the
relationships that he had, and decided to make his own way in a foreign
world. But did he ever give up hope that
the young man would come to his senses and return back home? Never!
Was it to remind the son of all the wrong that he had committed? Not in the least! There wasn’t a single word of hurt, or
disappointment, or damage or anger – the only words were of welcome and loving
kindness.
He even showed love and compassion to the older son
who didn’t have even an ounce of forgiveness or compassion to offer in his
brother’s return.
Consider
That the father acted in a Christ like way when he
loved both of his children equally, regardless of what they had said or done to
hurt their father deeply.
That the older son had enjoyed everything that his
father could offer throughout his entire life, and yet he apparently never
learned a single thing that his father had been teaching about how to live a
righteous life.
That the younger son, in discovering the painful
brokenness that his life’s decisions had caused, was humbled and contrite in
his soul, and only asked that his father would receive him back without any thought
of granting even a token of the love that had been his before.
Do we see ourselves as one of the sons?
How do we treat those who would return to the church
after years of sinful living? Are we
welcoming? Loving? Compassionate? Would we act any better than the older son
did, or would we too be judgmental and spiteful?
What is our attitude after living apart for years of
being far from the way that Jesus represents?
Would we willingly be humble and repentant? Would we be willing to be received back by
our Lord without any thought or promise of being welcomed as a blessed member
of the family of God? Or would we expect
to be welcomed back right where we left off?
Are we prepared and willing to be recreated to live
in God’s way without question, and to accept the Lord’s reconciliation without
hesitation or demands? Or is our “flesh” still giving off signals that are too
strong to deny?
We need to give it all over to the Lord, and to
begin living as He has always lived for us.
