"I NEVER DISOBEYED"
He answered his father, "Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends." Luke 15:29, R.S.V.
What a pathetic sight! With sweat pouring down his cheeks from walking behind the oxen across a large field in the hot sun, a middle-aged man reports to his father that he has been doing this virtually every day for a lifetime, in order to gain a few rewards from his father--only to hear his father say, "Son, everything that I have is yours already!"
On the face of it, one could say, "Think of all that wasted effort--the years of plowing and planting and harvesting in the hot sun and reluctant soil--when he didn't need to. He already had the goods!"
But the real tragedy goes even deeper. Think of that son living on his father's estate all those years, and still thinking that his father shared his blessings only with those who merited them! Our mind pictures that older brother dutifully punching the time clock, grumbling under his breath about every moment of overtime, sullenly wishing that the "old man would kick off" so that he could rightfully inherit the estate. We watch him flash with rage as he recalls the father giving half the estate to that scoundrel brother who didn't play by the rules. He resents the homecoming celebration barbecue since it will deplete his inheritance by one goat.
The older brother's motives are so utterly narrow and petty that Jesus does not need to belabor that point. Instead, He turns (as always) to portray the Father. Even though he has every right to do a blistering expose of his son's smallness, the father simply speaks gentle words of reassurance. He does not begrudge his son's anger. Amazingly, he reassures him that the wealth of the estate is already his!
I freely confess that this brings me a great comfort. When I recall how often I have resented God for passing by all my hard work to let His grace flow on one I regard as unworthy, through my embarrassment I hear the Father's voice. He does not take issue with my claim never to have disobeyed, though He could. He doesn't let me pick a fight about the hours on my time card, though He knows it is irrelevant. He simply says, "Join your younger brother, and come home to your Father's heart."
He answered his father, "Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends." Luke 15:29, R.S.V.
What a pathetic sight! With sweat pouring down his cheeks from walking behind the oxen across a large field in the hot sun, a middle-aged man reports to his father that he has been doing this virtually every day for a lifetime, in order to gain a few rewards from his father--only to hear his father say, "Son, everything that I have is yours already!"
On the face of it, one could say, "Think of all that wasted effort--the years of plowing and planting and harvesting in the hot sun and reluctant soil--when he didn't need to. He already had the goods!"
But the real tragedy goes even deeper. Think of that son living on his father's estate all those years, and still thinking that his father shared his blessings only with those who merited them! Our mind pictures that older brother dutifully punching the time clock, grumbling under his breath about every moment of overtime, sullenly wishing that the "old man would kick off" so that he could rightfully inherit the estate. We watch him flash with rage as he recalls the father giving half the estate to that scoundrel brother who didn't play by the rules. He resents the homecoming celebration barbecue since it will deplete his inheritance by one goat.
The older brother's motives are so utterly narrow and petty that Jesus does not need to belabor that point. Instead, He turns (as always) to portray the Father. Even though he has every right to do a blistering expose of his son's smallness, the father simply speaks gentle words of reassurance. He does not begrudge his son's anger. Amazingly, he reassures him that the wealth of the estate is already his!
I freely confess that this brings me a great comfort. When I recall how often I have resented God for passing by all my hard work to let His grace flow on one I regard as unworthy, through my embarrassment I hear the Father's voice. He does not take issue with my claim never to have disobeyed, though He could. He doesn't let me pick a fight about the hours on my time card, though He knows it is irrelevant. He simply says, "Join your younger brother, and come home to your Father's heart."
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