Day 261: God's Letter To The Other Prodigal: "Come On In And Join The Party!"
Read: Luke 15:25 - 32
To: My Stay At Home Prodigal,
Over the last week or so, I have been spending as much time as I could on the 15th chapter of Luke. A truly glorious chapter with countless lessons about
Jesus and His and our ministry toward those He considered the 'least,
the last, the lost'. What an array of characters we have encountered -
tax collectors, Pharisees, a women and her frantic struggle to find one
small silver coin at all cost. Now we are with a family. A prodigal
son who wants what he wants when he wants it and gets it. A father who
watches his rebellious son leave and squander his life away. Now, we
arrive at the final character of this drama - the son who remained at
home. The unheralded son.
After a long day in the field he comes home to the sound of loud music and dancing. What was he thinking about? What do you believe he is thinking about? What is this mysterious celebration going on? Why was I not told of this so I could finish my work and get cleaned up and join in the revelry? Is my father finally throwing me a surprise party? I have been waiting forever you know! He is dirty from a long day in the fields. A servant of his father tells of the return of the rebellious child the killing of the best calf. His steps suddenly slow down. His heart sinks into the ground he's been sowing. Joy suddenly transforms into great anger and resentment! A new prodigal is revealed.
A new prodigal? Yep, I would say so! Only this one left home, never got
any further than his fathers fields however far away they were from
home. I would call his older brother, 'Stay at Home' Prodigal. Although
he never left his home physically, he too had a considerably strained
relationship with the rest of his family. Only his heart has never
left home. He would be the one who would remain quietly obedient to the
true cause. Work harder than most everybody else but do so for quite the
selfish gain. He represents many of those folks here today who feel
perhaps that while they have not sinned against God by running off,
going wild, that somehow they do not measure up.
In fact,
your life is so tame and boring that “wild living” isn’t part of your
vocabulary. It was never meant to be wild living. But you know and most
other people know who you are. You have been around for a long time
working hard. But when it comes to really celebrating what God is doing
in the lives of others, you don’t, no wont, rejoice. The center of
attention is no longer celebrating your efforts but someone else. Quick
to grumble and complain, you will continue to work the fields but to
gain attention lost to the returning sinner. Hey I’m not angry at these people, the Father loves them, and I do too. How do we say, how do we convince them, “Come on in and join the party?”
Signed and Sealed by My Love, Your Father God
Let Us pray: Lord, Your celebration is for everybody. Help me, help us
to be just as welcoming to those who feel on the outside looking in
after years of hard, dedicated work in the service of Your kingdom. Help us to recognize them equally. Help us to be inclusive. Help us celebrate all the work done on behalf of Your
kingdom. Help us to not be selfish in our hearts, let our motivations be
not upon ourselves. Let us accept the open door that leads to the greatest celebration of all - in Your New Jerusalem.
http://www.youtube.com/
Read: Luke 15:25 - 32
To: My Stay At Home Prodigal,
Over the last week or so, I have been spending as much time as I could on the 15th chapter of Luke. A truly glorious chapter with countless lessons about Jesus and His and our ministry toward those He considered the 'least, the last, the lost'. What an array of characters we have encountered - tax collectors, Pharisees, a women and her frantic struggle to find one small silver coin at all cost. Now we are with a family. A prodigal son who wants what he wants when he wants it and gets it. A father who watches his rebellious son leave and squander his life away. Now, we arrive at the final character of this drama - the son who remained at home. The unheralded son.
After a long day in the field he comes home to the sound of loud music and dancing. What was he thinking about? What do you believe he is thinking about? What is this mysterious celebration going on? Why was I not told of this so I could finish my work and get cleaned up and join in the revelry? Is my father finally throwing me a surprise party? I have been waiting forever you know! He is dirty from a long day in the fields. A servant of his father tells of the return of the rebellious child the killing of the best calf. His steps suddenly slow down. His heart sinks into the ground he's been sowing. Joy suddenly transforms into great anger and resentment! A new prodigal is revealed.
A new prodigal? Yep, I would say so! Only this one left home, never got any further than his fathers fields however far away they were from home. I would call his older brother, 'Stay at Home' Prodigal. Although he never left his home physically, he too had a considerably strained relationship with the rest of his family. Only his heart has never left home. He would be the one who would remain quietly obedient to the true cause. Work harder than most everybody else but do so for quite the selfish gain. He represents many of those folks here today who feel perhaps that while they have not sinned against God by running off, going wild, that somehow they do not measure up.
In fact, your life is so tame and boring that “wild living” isn’t part of your vocabulary. It was never meant to be wild living. But you know and most other people know who you are. You have been around for a long time working hard. But when it comes to really celebrating what God is doing in the lives of others, you don’t, no wont, rejoice. The center of attention is no longer celebrating your efforts but someone else. Quick to grumble and complain, you will continue to work the fields but to gain attention lost to the returning sinner. Hey I’m not angry at these people, the Father loves them, and I do too. How do we say, how do we convince them, “Come on in and join the party?”
Signed and Sealed by My Love, Your Father God
Let Us pray: Lord, Your celebration is for everybody. Help me, help us to be just as welcoming to those who feel on the outside looking in after years of hard, dedicated work in the service of Your kingdom. Help us to recognize them equally. Help us to be inclusive. Help us celebrate all the work done on behalf of Your kingdom. Help us to not be selfish in our hearts, let our motivations be not upon ourselves. Let us accept the open door that leads to the greatest celebration of all - in Your New Jerusalem.
http://www.youtube.com/
Amy Grant - Don't Try So Hard (Lyric Video) ft. James Taylor
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Buy Now! iTunes: http://smarturl.it/iTunesHowMercyLooks?IQid=HMLFHlyric Amazon: http://smarturl.it
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