The Forgiving Father

There is a great parable recorded in Luke 15:11–32. The record itself has been titled in a number of ways: The Parable of The Two Brothers, The Prodigal Son, The Lost Son, The Loving Father and The Forgiving Father to name a few. I guess the title is in the eyes of the beholder added by man. For me, The Forgiving Father works as does The Loving Father.

According to Webster, a 'prodigal' foolishly spends money or time.  We are all prodigals; I know I am at times. I know there are also times I have looked at things with a mindset like the oldest of the two brothers in the parable. This record reflects God's heart as a father and that is what is important:

A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

At tis point the son realized that life was not easy when he tried to live it the way he thought he wanted to. Life back where he came from was better even as a servant in his father's house than what he had encountered living as his desires pushed him:

17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father.

His admission as to his wrong thinking helped him wake up and smell the roses! This is healthy guilt. Shame is a deeper feeling of unworthiness and self-deprecation. It leads to fear and condemnation both of which are unnecessary burdens to carry when one makes a correction in direction. Look at how the father reacted! 

But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

Just like this parable, God's heart jumps for joy when we realize that God's heart and hand on our lives brings peace and strength! Worldly thinking will tempt us to question freedom, but true freedom is experienced in living without fear and its burdens.

The other son needed some help too:

25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

He had some issues in his thinking: 

31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. 32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. Luke 15:11-32

A parable is meant to teach a simple lesson. This parable is about God's love and not about the either son missing the mark. The center of the target is God's huge love that never stops. He does not withhold love but we often lose sight of it and that is when we miss out.

The other day I was at a shooting range and was having trouble lining the sights of the gun. Each eye gave me a different picture. God gave us two eyes that provide depth when used together.  It is when we focus with both of them that our brain actually does the seeing without conflict. Our spiritual eyes do the same thing. We see one thing with one eye and another image with the other. Opening both eyes brings focus.  Looking at both stories of the two sons at the same time shows us greater depth of the enormous love of the the father toward both sons.

Yes You Can!

Religion is man-made. It is how man approaches something he/she worships.  I'm not a fan of religion  because it is man deciding how to reach God. God is dynamically loving. He's bigger than the human mind. Man is puny in comparison, but God does not see 'puny' when he sees us. He sees us through the spiritual genetics of his son. His desire for each and every person is strength, wisdom and success and victory over our messes. He reaches down gives us all the tools to do just that. Our job is acceptance and belief.

Jesus called the pharisees 'whited sepulchers'. because they maintained a facade of whitewashed piety. There is no life inside a sepulcher. The pharisees were the ultimate experts in the fine art of 'virtual signaling'. 'Virtual signaling' is a buzzword in our digital culture referring to the practice of propounding or rather pounding moral correctness into the megabyte airways of our society. It is a sneaky way to get people to adhere to moral law pushing and obfuscating grace right out of out of view. 

 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23 

There is no human being that ever lived or is alive today that can dispute this. We all sin!

Being justified freely by his grace (downward action of God) through the redemption (lifting us up) that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance (patient endurance) of God; Romans 3:24-25 (Romans 3 is such a great chapter!)

It is the difference between God's righteousness (grace) and self-righteousness (works) that we need to understand. What a relief it is when we finally get it! Religion, when based on self-righteousness is tiring, boring, self-defeating and an ultimate path to burn-out. Grace encourages, loves, lifts the heart, soothes, calms, enlightens, patiently endures with expectation of victory. It is the basis for:

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13

*A great record to read about works and grace is John 8:1-12

Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. 

And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, "Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?"

6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, "Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?" She said, "No man, Lord." And Jesus said unto her, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

 

Seeing the Word Take Hold of Any Situation

God protects us through his word.  It is more than just reading a few appropriate verses and going about our merry way. It is all about making it a reality in any situation we face. Psalm 91 can be lived to the fullest in facing adversity.  Even if we may have made a few mistakes or two and gotten into a bit of a mess, God is there when we call on him. Life is messy. God isn't. He loves us, forgives us and helps us set things in order when we go to that special place in our minds where he can abide.

91 1-2 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High (Elyon) shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty  Shaddai). 2 I will say of the Lord (Yahweh), He is my refuge and my fortress: my God (Elohim); in him will I trust. Psalm 91:1-2

I wrote out the Hebrew words in the parentheses because when we look at these 4 names of God and connect him to these promises in Psalm 91, it is breath-taking. The rest of Psalm 91 is filled with more wonderful promises that rest in God's signatures.

First of all we can dwell in the secret place of the most High.  'Elyon' is a name of God. Its root word has the meaning "to go up " or "be high". This name of God refers to God's supremacy, he is above that all that exists. 'Shaddai' refers to God as the Almighty. This refers to God's great power. His power doesn't control us; he leaves that up to our own choice but we can call on that power in a split second.

The third name of God listed in this Psalm is 'Yahweh'. 'Yahweh' emphasizes God's relationship to us and his creation. God is a refuge or shelter and a fortress to us. No one can help us like God can.  He is our  highest, almighty stronghold. 

The last name listed here is Elohim, the God of creation. It is in the God of creation that we confide or trust in. The physical creation shows us his faithfulness.  All around us are constant reminders of God's faithfulness through his creation. The sun rises and sets everyday without fail. Gravity is constant. We don't have to even think about whether gravity will fail us. It is faithful everyday and night. Birds fly, fish swim and flowers grow. All of these things are faithful blessings to us.  There are so many examples of God's faithfulness in the universe.  We have clear evidence of a God that we can confide in and trust.

The language in Psalm 91 is beautiful and reassuring. It is a good psalm to memorize and say out loud. As we do, the words exert a powerful force in our thinking because the God of the universe stands behind its words.