Lessons from the Prodigal – Part 3

By Ricky Chelette

“…his father saw him… and ran and embraced him and kissed him… But the father said to this servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a rung on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and lets eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” 

Luke 15:20b-24

Have you ever been celebrated by your father, really celebrated? Can you remember a time when your dad was so overjoyed in seeing you that he beamed with pride? If that ever happened to you, it was likely a red letter day in your life. There’s something about a father’s approval and blessing that is uniquely powerful.

If you remember the first part of the prodigal story, the son has asked for and received his inheritance. He has wasted his inheritance on wild living and sensual delights. Reaching the end of himself and realizing the err of his way, he now knows that what he had was better than anything he was seeking. He repents for his sin against God and against his loving father. While he was still a long way off his father, eagerly anticipating the return of his son, sees his son making his way home. The father’s response is instructive for us as we encounter those we love who have been in the far country. The father’s example gives us at least three responses to those who on their way home: 

• Love unconditionally. Notice that father doesn’t ask for his money back, doesn’t ask for an accounting of how/where it was spent, and doesn’t lecture the son on his irresponsibility. He simply runs to his son, embraces him, and kisses him. When we love like Jesus loves we rejoice when those in disobedience choose light over darkness and good over evil. The one that was lost had found his way home. This was not a time for lecture or conjecture. He was already aware of his sin. He had already been disciplined by his Heavenly Father and experienced consequences for his actions. Now was the time for love to be demonstrated through a hug and a kiss. 

• Forgive lavishly. Forgiveness is so powerful because it always costly to the one who forgives. The father instructs his servant to kill the fattened calf and prepare a feast. Though the son had taken a significant portion of wealth from his father and wasted it on irresponsible living, the father gives even more to put on a feast. Forgiveness costs. When Jesus demonstrated his love for sinful humanity He didn’t do it by posting a sign or overlooking a misstep, He gave up His very life. 

• Give praise to God. Celebrations always have purpose and focus. There is something to be celebrated and someone to be thanked. Though the text does not explicitly indicate the praise of God, the son’s realization that his sin was first “against heaven” and the father’s statement of his son being “lost and now found,” “dead and now alive,” would give us strong indication that Jesus was intending his audience to see this family as a family of faith. When God works miracles, people of faith respond with praise and worship to the Giver of good gifts! If you read between the lines you can almost hear the praises being sung, the prayers being offered, the miraculous deeds of God being gloriously recounted. 

How are you at loving lavishly those who may have hurt you, taken something from you, or failed to live up to your expectations of them? Do you really love unconditionally or is your love based on others’ meeting your expectations?

Who is it that you need to forgive? Are you willing to pay the price or exact a price? Jesus says that we will only be forgiven to the degree that we have forgiven others (Matt. 6:14-15). 

Who gets the credit when God does the impossible? Do you praise God and celebrate His goodness or do rush in to try to see how you made a difference?

The story of the prodigal is a story of all of our lives. We have all wandered from the Father, squandered our inheritance, and have experienced the consequences of our sin. But the glorious good news of the Gospel is our Heavenly Father is watching and waiting for our slightest turn toward home. He is waiting to run to us, embrace us, and love us. He has demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still in the far country, Jesus, His only Son, would die for us (Rom. 5:8). Our sin has exacted the greatest price of forgiveness upon Him - the sacrifice of His only Son. With such magnanimous grace and forgiveness lavished upon us, how can we do any less? How can we resist such a Father - such a Savior?

Lessons from the Prodigal – Part 2

By Ricky Chelette

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’  And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”

Luke 15:17-22

“But when he came to himself.” Verse 17 may be one of the most powerful verses for any individual. No one makes any progress until we take an honest look at who we are, where we are, and what we are doing. The son had been living in the far country enjoying money he hadn’t made and living a life he hadn’t earned. But pleasure never replaces people. Desperate, alone, and hungry, he was at the end of his rope. Friends who partied with him when he was buying drinks are long gone. A Jewish boy, he now competes with pigs for discarded food. He is humiliated. It is hardly the life he had once lived or imagined.

Sometimes our clearest vision comes at our darkest hour. Rarely do we appreciate what we have until it is gone. The prodigal remembered his former life - the kindness, the blessings and privilege he took for granted - and longs for what once was. No work of the father, no manipulative scheme, no well-placed word of guilt eventuated this reality. God was at work and He always is.

The prodigal realizes the gravity of his actions and their consequences. He knows against whom he has sinned and longs for reconciliation (verse 18-19). His movement is God-motivated and God-directed. Only when he realizes the spiritual significance of his actions does he know to reconcile the earthly relationships he has wounded.

Philippians 1:6 says, “that he [God] who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.” We can’t control the lives of others, but we have a Father who is faithfully working all things for good to those who love Him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). God is faithful! We have no idea how long the prodigal was in the far country. It may have been a few weeks or a few years, but however long, He was never alone and never out of the sight of God.

But don’t miss what Jesus says about the father: “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” Great fathers pray with expectancy. The prodigal’s father allowed the wishes of his adult son, but was praying expectantly that the son would soon come home. “While he was still a long way off…” what amazing words! Do we pray with that kind of expectancy – with that kind of faith? The father knew God was at work even when he could not see God working. He kept looking with hope for His son. Good fathers not only believe God’s truth, they live it.

“His father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” No condemnation. No judgment. No correction or even instruction. Just compassion and love. Was the father weak in his position on truth? Absolutely not. The son knew the father didn’t approve of his choices as evidenced by his acknowledgement of sin against his father. But the consequences of the son’s sinful choices were enough for the father. Instead of demanding acknowledgement of the father’s right beliefs, the father was simply compassionate and loving. Good fathers leave the conviction and judgment to God alone.

Do you know a prodigal in the far country? Can you trust God’s promises for them? Are you praying expectantly for them and their return?

Are you in the far country? What will it take for you to come to the end of yourself? Are you really willing to experience the consequences of your choices or is today the day you come to the end of yourself? Come home to the Father. He longs to embrace you, kiss you and love you as His beloved son/daughter.

Lessons from the Prodigal – Part 1

By Ricky Chelette

The story of the prodigal son is a parable of loss, love and redemption. We often think the story is only about wayward children, or a kind father; but we couldn’t be more misguided. 

We will spend the next few weeks looking at this powerful parable shared by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke 15:11-32. 

“There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.”
Luke 15:11-16

I’ve always been amazed by the beginning of this story because the son makes a serious request with no apparent resistance from the father. Simply put, he asks for his inheritance, gets it, and leaves the security and protection of his father’s home. It doesn’t take the son long to make poor choices and soon quickly depletes his inheritance on wild living. Alienated, alone, without meaningful employment, and begging for food, the son is in a new dilemma.

But notice the father’s response. Do you see it? There is none. You see the Father didn’t go where the son was. The father stayed home, looking to the horizon; praying for the return of his beloved son. 

I believe what the Lord is trying to communicate to us is the father will indeed allow us to do what it is we want to do if we insist on doing it. But when He allows us to receive what we want, he also allows us to experience the consequences of those poor choices. 

Do you really want God to give you what you desire? Is your desire in line with His will or in direct opposition to it?

If you are a parent with a child who has taken their inheritance and moved into the far country, are you willing to surrender your prodigal to the Lord’s care, knowing that He loves them even more than you do? Are you willing to allow them to experience the consequences of their actions even if those consequences result in your child competing with pigs for food? Or are you chasing them and joining them in the far country, hoping to somehow lessen the pain you know is inevitable?

The truths from this passage are sobering but sanctifying: 

• Sometimes God will give you what you want even when it is not what you need. 
• Rebellion has consequences and God allows us to experience those consequences. 
• Sometimes the bottom of the pit is the place God’s voice is the clearest.
• Good parents trust God and don’t always rescue. 

What lessons have you learned from your time in the far country?