I am not quite done with forgiveness, for these next entries will center on perhaps the most famous parable concerning forgiveness; the parable of the Prodigal Son. Most who have been to church just a handful of times have likely heard at least one sermon on this passage. I know I’ve heard lots of sermons on it, and I used to honestly role my eyes when I realized I’d be hearing yet another one. That was until I really studied the passage, and realized that countless amazing biblical truths can be found in this single parable. There are so many lessons that teach us so much, but also point us to one fact. God loves us, and wants us to be forgiven.
The first two verses, 11-12, teach us a lot about how we can choose to relate to God. They read:
“A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.”
Sounds polite enough in the translation, but these words are not polite. To the Jewish audience Jesus was speaking to they would not have been. What the son was really saying is he wishes his father was dead. He is tired of him hanging around. The son wants his inheritance now. He demands it. It’s the right of the father to slap the son at this request, and drive him out of town, but he doesn’t. He loves the son, and gives him his inheritance. He allows the son to live as if his father were dead.
Many of us relate to God in the same way. Most of us are afraid to admit it. I know I have allowed the thought creep into my head in the past that maybe it would just be easier if all this stuff I believed in wasn’t real. Maybe I would be happier if I just turned from God, and did whatever I want. I could at least know more joy if He would just bless me with riches now, and not make me wait to enjoy treasures in heaven. Sometimes those of us who have accepted God can fall into the line of thinking that life would be better if we didn’t serve God. We would live greater lives if we just did whatever we wanted. Some who look at the evidence, and know God is real refuse to accept Him for this very reason. They only want to live for themselves.
This way of thinking is wrong. Very wrong. The rest of the passage will show what results from living in such a way. The obvious reason is that none of this stuff we enjoy so much would even exist if God hadn’t created it. Aside from that is that man was not made to be separate from God. As the created we were made to be filled with the Creator. When we are not filled with the Creator than our lives are never as good as they could be. The rest of this passage shows things do not go so good for us.
God loves us, and will not strike us down because we desire to turn from Him. Sometimes he’ll let us see for ourselves what life is like apart from Him. It isn’t as glamorous as Satan tries to tell us it is. The coming verses make that very clear.
No comments:
Post a Comment