Home Again: A Study Of The Prodigal Son. I would encourage all to read it.
I have read the story of the prodigal son for years, even facilitated a group that discussed the The Father Heart of God: Experiencing the Depths of His Love for You
, a book devoted to that same story. So for me, I did not think that I could learn anything new from it. You know, God has a habit of grabbing you by the neck sometime and just politely tell you, shut up and listen. I did for this one.
It is an old story, I am sure that you know it well if you grow up in church. One son wants his inheritance while dad is still living. Takes the money and spends it all, then, when he has nothing less, he tries to return home to be a servant. Dad rushes to him, forgives him, kills the fatted calf and has a party for him. The older son gets mad because he did not get a party the whole time he stayed. The question that this devotional tried to bring out was, "which son was the better one?" (that is my version of it).
I always though that the older son was the better one. He stayed with the father through all the problems of life that were thrown at them, there he was, right by the dad's side. If the younger had not run away, then he would have been blessed just like the older one did. Sure, the younger son was forgiven, that says something, but the older one was smarter. Or was he? His actions, that I had not really looked at closer before, showed he was just as bad as his younger brother.
In reality, one brother is living by faith, the other living by works. Both are elements that God wants in our lives, and like the father loved both of his sons, God loves both sides equally. Both of these, however, are ditches on the side of the road. You get off on one you or the other, you are out of the will of God. God will gently prod you to get out of the ditch and get back up to center ground so that you can move on with what He has planned for your life.
Take some time to do the reading plan, I am sure you will get something else out of it. If nothing else take some time to take a look at the YouTube presentation of the story.
I have read the story of the prodigal son for years, even facilitated a group that discussed the The Father Heart of God: Experiencing the Depths of His Love for You
, a book devoted to that same story. So for me, I did not think that I could learn anything new from it. You know, God has a habit of grabbing you by the neck sometime and just politely tell you, shut up and listen. I did for this one.It is an old story, I am sure that you know it well if you grow up in church. One son wants his inheritance while dad is still living. Takes the money and spends it all, then, when he has nothing less, he tries to return home to be a servant. Dad rushes to him, forgives him, kills the fatted calf and has a party for him. The older son gets mad because he did not get a party the whole time he stayed. The question that this devotional tried to bring out was, "which son was the better one?" (that is my version of it).
I always though that the older son was the better one. He stayed with the father through all the problems of life that were thrown at them, there he was, right by the dad's side. If the younger had not run away, then he would have been blessed just like the older one did. Sure, the younger son was forgiven, that says something, but the older one was smarter. Or was he? His actions, that I had not really looked at closer before, showed he was just as bad as his younger brother.
In reality, one brother is living by faith, the other living by works. Both are elements that God wants in our lives, and like the father loved both of his sons, God loves both sides equally. Both of these, however, are ditches on the side of the road. You get off on one you or the other, you are out of the will of God. God will gently prod you to get out of the ditch and get back up to center ground so that you can move on with what He has planned for your life.
Take some time to do the reading plan, I am sure you will get something else out of it. If nothing else take some time to take a look at the YouTube presentation of the story.
