And he said, "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. "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. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate. (Luk 15:11-24)
What principles can we take away from the Prodigal Son passage to guide us in our daily lives?
The Pharisees were so wrapped up in the letter of the Law that they missed the spirit of it. They used God’s Law to condemn people; they used it to make themselves feel holy while they could look at others with contempt. We should be careful to follow the example of Jesus instead of the Pharisees.
There is a saying that goes, “Law to the proud, grace to the humble.” The Pharisees were only about the Law, even when sinners would cry at their feet they would rather stone them than show them grace. Yet Christ over and over again shows us that we are to be gracious to the humble. We’re not to kick them when they’re down, but rather to point them to Christ and the hope that is in Him.
Repentant sinners are not to be looked down on, as if we were somehow better than them; as if our sins aren’t as bad as theirs. We are to welcome them and treat them as brothers and sisters in Christ. If our holy God can accept us, who are we to deny others?
If you lost your wallet or purse you would probably search feverishly for it. Do we search out the lost with the same sense of immediacy? Do we care more for what’s in our wallets than for peoples’ souls?
So let’s work on loving people more, valuing them more than we value material things.
And how do we love God? Do we love Him in the same way the unrepentant prodigal son loved his father…loved him for what he could get from him just so that he could spend it on what the world has to offer? I’m not talking about lip service here. Anyone can say that they love God more than the world, but does our walk match up with our talk? Do we yearn for time to spend with our loving Father, or would we rather spend time on what the world has to offer? How much time do we spend in prayer and Scripture versus sports, t.v., and all the other worldly things that attract us? Are we going to spend this upcoming Sunday with the Lord in worship, or are we going to be consumed with worldly pursuits? And if we can’t spend even 1 day in a week with our Lord, how will we be able to stand an eternity in Heaven?
Let’s ask God to renew our love for Him. That we would love Him with a devotion that is second to nothing else in our lives. Let’s make a commitment to fall out of love with the world as we fall into love with our Heavenly Father.
For those who have not come to Christ because you think that you are not wanted by God, you can see that God will welcome you back if you turn from your lifestyle of sin and turn to God and His lifestyle of holiness. Come to God and be clothed with Christ, put on your family ring, and walk in holiness through the Gospel of Peace.
Let’s check ourselves to see in what ways we might be acting selfishly and ask God that we would seek after Him and not after ourselves. We must realize that our selfish yearnings are nothing more than longing to work with pigs and their slop. Even those things that appear desirable in this world are but a shadow of the blessings that we have with our heavenly Father.
When we stumble and sin, we can be assured that coming to God in true repentance will restore us. Not because of anything we have done to earn His forgiveness, not because of anything that we bring to the Father, but because He loves His children and wants us to come back into communion with Him.
May God grant us a heart that seeks to be Christ-like. May He give us the realization that we have nothing to be proud of, and humbly submit ourselves to His will, loving others and forgiving them when they wrong us just as God has forgiven us in Christ.
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