Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Our Need for Mercy

“Jesus continued: ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, “Father, give me my share of the estate.” So he divided his property between them.

‘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.  After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.  So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.  He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

‘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!  I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.”  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.  The son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

‘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.  Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So they began to celebrate.

‘Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. “Your brother has come,” he replied, “and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.”

‘The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.  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. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!” “My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.  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.”’” (Luke 15:11-32 NIV)

This is likely a familiar story to you, one that has long been interpreted to show God’s amazing grace toward those who have foolishly abandoned Him to pursue their own desires and lived to suffer the consequences.  The father’s embrace of his repentant son symbolizes the Lord’s great mercy toward those who humble themselves before Him.  

But there is more that we can learn from this beautiful story.  Most of the focus historically has been on the younger son and the mercy the father showed him after he wasted his inheritance.  But what becomes clear, if we look a little deeper, is how both sons, the older and the younger, wasted their inheritance.  While the younger son draws the greater attention through the sheer audacity of his request for his father’s money and subsequent very poor choices in spending it, the older son, likewise, is wasteful with his inheritance with legalism and a lack of humility.  It is clear by his reaction to his father’s show of mercy to his younger sibling that he has a sense of entitlement and the lack of appreciation for what he already has, which often accompanies it.  

This story, if we look closely, is played out in modern times over and over.  The younger brother represents the person who will be ruled by no one and thinks it’s his right to live as he chooses, even though all that he possesses has been given to him.  Think of college students whose parents are paying all their expenses who choose to party their way through school and don’t attend their classes.  Or gifted athletes who spend the millions they earn on lavish living and end up financially ruined within years of the end of their careers.  Think of young people who have been raised in the faith, but upon leaving home, choose a different path.  Many stories have these folks written about how they had to look up at the bottom before they realized their desperate need for God.

The older brother, as Jesus intended, represents religious people who are under the false notion that they have earned God’s favor by the way they live.  This, too, is played out every day behind the walls of church buildings and homes in the hearts of those who fail to understand their desperate need for God.  They are proud of their righteousness and, like the older brother, look down on anyone who fails to meet their standards of behavior.  Think of the preachers who shout and condemn students every fall and spring on college campuses across the country. Think of people who refuse to associate with someone based on politics or lifestyle.  Think of people who focus more on the sins of others than on their own.  

Both groups, in essence, are wasting the inheritance the Lord has given them, and both arrogantly believe it belongs to them.  The one believes it is theirs to do with what they want, while the other believes they have been given charge of it to keep and protect it.  

The truth is the inheritance, the riches of God’s grace, belongs to Him. It always has and always will.  And it is not something any of us has earned or is entitled to possess.  We all are guilty of mishandling what we’ve been given. Thus, regardless of whether we are reflected more in the younger son or the older one, our need for the Lord’s mercy is the same.

Today, examine your heart.  You have been given a great inheritance. How are you spending it?  Regardless of your answer, be assured of the Lord’s offer of mercy and your desperate need for it.

© Jim Musser 2016

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