the prodigal son
Luke 15:11-31
This is a very familiar story to all of
us. It has become the epidemy of comparison for those who drift away
and come back to the loving arms of Christ. But, honestly, a lot of
us in our hearts would prefer to be the older brother. At least I,
for a long time, envied such a guy. I mean, he never rebelled. He was
always obedient. From all appearances he appears like a stand-up guy!
Especially when he is backdropped against the rebellious youth who
throws away his inheritance for a time of pleasure.
But there is one thing I want to call
your attention to. One main difference between the prodigal son and
elder at the end of the story that would make one prefer to be the
prodigal. This one difference makes the whole journey a worthy
investment because it taught the younger son the lesson of humility.
If you look back at the verses and pay
attention to the older sons response you will see it wreaks. It wreaks
of self-righteousness. He believed that what he had done had
earned him right standing with his father. It wreaks of unjustified
anger. He believed he was good enough of
himself to have earned a greater portion of his father's things, and
was angered therefore because he got did not get the celebration. It wreaks
of judgementalism. He made assumptions based upon his opinion of his
brother ("prostitutes"). And finally, it wreaks of a grave misunderstanding
of love. He
believed that it was his hard work that gained him his father's love.
How does he compare with his brother? I
mean, didn't the younger brother pridefully face the father and demand
his inheritance? Didn't he reject the love and care of the father for
what he believed was a better life? Didn't he trust the demands of his
desire more than the loving guidance of his father? Yes, he did; but in
the end he learned. His brother, on the other hand, did not.
The difference here is in the attitude.
The older brother asked, in essence, "why haven't you given me what
I've earned?" The younger said, "make me your servant." It was
that humility, that realization of his own inability and faults, that
brought him to his knees and allowed the father to exalt him. The older
brother, instead, got brought down because of his self-exaltation.
That means we should pity people like the
older son. Those who never took the tumbling and learned the lesson of
their own inadequacies. It also means that we ourselves should not be
like the older son. We must realize that we are all flawed, weak, and
guilty on our own! Not for the false-humility of a low self-esteem;
but a healthy realization that it is because of Christ that we are
what we are and where we are. It was His outright gift!
In His life, Jesus demonstrated this truth.
The most triumphant and overwhelming facet of Jesus' life was His
humility. It was apparent in everything He did.
His incarnation was humbling (Philippians 2)
He served others humbly
His death was the ultimate act of humility
Through His life Jesus has given us a
formula for a godly life, and a life that fulfills His desire and plan
for us on earth. There are two main keys to this life. One is love,
the other, as we have seen, is humility. Without humility one will
never be exalted with Christ.
As we search through our lives do we
see humility or self-righteousness? Do we see ourselves on His altar
bereft of our own abilities and begging only to be a servant of Him?
Or do we, like the older brother, think that our acts earn us a right
to His love? I challenge you tonight to look inside and examine your
heart and if you find yourself filled with thoughts not unlike that of
the elder brother, repent! Learn the lesson the younger brother wasted
his inheritance to learn. Learn to be humble before a mighty God whose
love is given, not earned.
