One of my favorite apps is the “Find iPhone” app. We have it on all our devices. I don’t often loose my phone when I’m out & about. But probably 2-3 times a week I open the app because I can’t find where I sat my phone down at the house! Or more likely, where one of our kids put my phone. So I open the Find iPhone app on a different device & it makes my phone play this loud sound that we can follow until it’s found! Best app ever. Need this for my keys, my sunglasses & maybe I can install it on each of my kids as well!
If you’ve ever lost anything you know how annoying this feels. Losing things can drive us crazy. Especially when we’re in a hurry & just can’t find what we’re looking for. But many of us know a deeper sense of loss. While losing things is annoying, losing people is downright scary. Ever been that parent out at the park & what in reality is 60 seconds feels like an eternity when you can’t lay eyes on your child? You turned away for a moment & now you don’t know where they are.
The story of the Prodigal Son may be one of Jesus’ most famous stories of all time. Jesus was an expert story teller & this one never seems to get old. Even if you’ve heard it a million times, there’s still so much there to learn, consider, realize & understand. And in this story God wants us to know that nothing excites him more than when one of his sons or daughters who is lost is found. And even though this story is super familiar, let me ask you to consider four quick things.
Scroll to the bottom to re-read this great story found in Luke 15…
1. Who was lost in the story?
Often this story is read & taught as the story of one lost son who was found. But if you think about it, both sons were lost. The Father goes out to meet both sons. Only one son comes into the party. The older son is lost in his self righteous entitled state, infuriated that his younger brother is being celebrated. Even though he, the older son, has always done what was right he has never gotten any such recognition.
2. Which lost son do you identify with most?
Are you more like a prodigal — have you wandered away & come back home keenly aware of your sin?
Are you more like the older son — always done what was right & annoyed when people who don’t get special treatment?
Wherever you find yourself in the story Jesus paints a powerful picture of the Father’s love for both sons. And in different seasons of life we may identify with one son more than the other. No matter where we are in the story, God’s love & desire for us to come in to the party is the same!
3. The son went from “give me” to “make me.” What changed?
I love this. Did you catch it? In Luke 15:12 the younger son says to his father, “…give me my share of the estate.” (NIV). Then, after experiencing the natural consequences of squandering his wealth, he prepares to say this to his father in 15:19, “…make me like one of your hired servants” (NIV).
What changed? His heart. Through a difficult season in his life his heart was changed. Never underestimate what God is doing in the valleys of your life. He is intimately aware & actively involved int he details of your life. Sometimes its only in the valleys that God can move us from our “give me” attitudes to a heart that says “make me” who you want me to be.
4. How does the story end?
We’re so numb to the story it doesn’t have much affect on us. But to the original audience it must have been shocking. I think this is true for two reasons. The story ends with the Father pleading with the older son to come into the party. But we don’t know the rest of the story. We really don’t know how the story ends. It ends abruptly! If this were the end of a movie, we would walk out so frustrated. What happens next? What will the older son do? Come in to the party? Walk away? Will he & his Father make things right. Will he & his brother be friends or enemies? We’re left hanging with the questions.
Then, you remember who Jesus is telling this story to — Luke 15:1-2 set the scene: “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Jesus told the story for the benefit of those who are more like the older son. I can only imagine how infuriated they were by this story. Jesus paints a picture of Heaven where sinners are welcomed & celebrated & those who have always done what was right are left outside.
But here’s the truth in the story: The Father loved both sons. And he wanted both to be at the party. No matter where you fall in the story — God’s love for you is great & deep & wide & He longs for you to be at THE PARTY.
The story of two lost sons…
To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’
“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, and he asked one of the servants what was going on. ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
“The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
“His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”
