“O come, all you unfaithful
Come, weak and unstable
Come, know you are not alone
O come, barren and waiting ones
Weary of praying, come
See what your God has done”
O Come All Ye Unfaithful, Sovereign Grace Music
“Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Luke 15:1-2, NKJV
The word ‘prodigal’ is defined as being wasteful.
In Luke 15 the Pharisees and the scribes – the religious folk of the day – complain about Jesus receiving and eating with the undesirables of their society.
“This Man receives sinners and eats with them…”
Jesus responds with a series of three parables.
The first is the story of a shepherd who loses a sheep and leaves the 99 to go find the one. When he finds his lost sheep he calls his friends and family and they all rejoice together.
The second is the story of a woman who loses a gold coin. When she finds it she calls her friends and family and they rejoice together.
The third is probably one of the most misunderstood of the three stories that Jesus tells. We get distracted by the sin and shortcoming of the young man who squanders his inheritance – and ignore the purpose of the story altogether.
It is the story of a father who loses a son – and when the son returns the father calls his friends and family together so that they may rejoice, but the eldest brother, who had stayed behind is upset.
He says to his father: ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ (Luke 15:29-30, NKJV)
The first two stories end with a similar refrain – the thought that when a sinner comes home all of Heaven rejoices.
The story of the prodigal son does not have this refrain.
The eldest son in this case is just as ‘prodigal’ as the one who had left. He represents the Pharisees and the scribes.
Many in the church today are represented by the eldest son. There is no love for the sinner, the backslider, the addict, the prostitute…
But Jesus is married to the backslider (Jeremiah 3:14-15). He desires their return to the fold.
Shall we then, as the hands and the feet of the Father, refuse to seek them out? Shall we then, as the hands and feet of Jesus and agents of His grace, refuse to welcome them with open arms?
Are we perhaps the prodigal eldest son – wasting God’s grace by keeping it for ourselves, stashed away somewhere on a shelf – or are we sharing the joy unspeakable and full of glory, the hope of a restored life and eternal communion with Christ with our struggling brothers and sisters?
The church squanders its inheritance by receiving the grace that saves but refusing to become conformed to the image of Christ.
Both sons are the ‘prodigal son’, but only one ever gets restored in the parable. The one who had left and come back broken, empty, weary and burdened. The son who had been in his father’s house had absolutely no idea how far he had fallen and how wasteful he was being.
And so it is with the church. The parable of the prodigal son is a call to introspection. Is our judgement of others preventing us from seeking them out, welcoming them and loving them as Christ would have us do?
The father answers the eldest son with these words: ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ (Luke 15:31-31, NKJV)
Let us go then and receive the sinner, break bread with them, welcome them home. Even if they fall a thousand times, let us be there, willing like our Father in Heaven, to forgive, to love and to help them back up – as many times as it might take.
If you are perhaps more like the younger son today – the one who left and devoured his livelihood with harlots – consumed by the idolatry of sin and carnality – weak, unstable, barren, unfaithful – Jesus is calling you home!
Addicted, tired, bitter, guilty, fearful – Jesus is calling you!
And you don’t have to do it alone. No matter where you are in the world, reach out. Send me a message or an email (andre@adlabuschagne.co.za). We want to journey with you. You are not alone.
Prayer: Lord, help me be more like You. Break my heart for what breaks Yours and open my eyes so that I can see what You see. Help me love my neighbor. Help me love the sinner. Help me love the backslider. Give me the desire to see them saved. Equip me, Lord, through Your Spirit to reach out and call them back home. Equip me through Your Spirit, Lord, with the necessary grace to guide them, to make disciples and above all to help them back up when the slip, slide or fall. Help me stay true to Your Word and Your Will as I strive to be more like You. In Jesus Mighty Name. Amen.