Lost! Pt. 3

In Jesus' "Parable of the Lost", we come to the final part of the triptych - the lost son. The sheep, we have noted, was lost through its own foolishness; the coin was lost because of the woman's carelessness; but what about the son? May I suggest that he was lost because of his own wilfulness?

The first thing we may notice about this young man is the great start in life that he had. He was born, we might say, "with a silver spoon in his mouth"! Born into a land-owning family; a seemingly religious family, in which he would have received a good education in the Tanakh (the "Old Testament"), and the various rituals associated with orthodox Judaism; a loving family, in which he would have received all that he needed in life. Yes, he had a good start!

I suspect that many of those who are reading these words have also had a good start in life. Perhaps not in the same financial way, but certainly better than many in the "developing world! Sadly, just as was the case with this young, there are also sins that we have committed! In his case, the sin was one of rejection. It was, we read, sin against his father. He came to his father, and said: "Father, give me the share of property that falls to me." (Lk.15:12). He knew that, under Jewish law (and, I understand, modern French law!) his father wasn't free to leave his estate just as he wished - the family had a fixed claim. So this young man knew that a certain amount was his, by right, when his father died. But with what one commentator describes as "a certain heartless callousness", he said, in effect: "I can't be bothered waiting for you to die. Give me my inheritance now!" Such ingratitude! And he couldn't even claim that his father had driven him to such a situation.

How often you and I sin against those who love us most; those to whom we owe most. How ungrateful we show ourselves to be! But the son, as he later admitted, also sinned against God. Now, this is something that not everyone realises - that when we wrong another, we sin against God! Jesus has assured us that, when He "... comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne." (Matt. 25:31). He will then judge the nations, and some will be told: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;" (v.41). On asking why they should be so treated, the King's reply is simple: "Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me." (v.45; emphasis added). Jesus sees how we treat others as the way in which we treat Him!

Praise God, however, the parable doesn't end there, as we discover the salvation that this young man experienced. J.B.Phillips translates the words of Luke 15:17: "Then he came to his senses …" The implication is clear - that when we are in a state of rebellion against God, we are not ourselves; we are acting in a way contrary to that which God intends for us. The young man (and, of course it can be a young woman!) suddenly realised what a fool he had been, and his reaction was immediate: " I will arise and go to my father, …" (v.18) and, we read on: "... he arose and came to his father." (v.20).  His action now led to a new relationship of love. We hear no more about him - the rest of the parable has more to do with the elder brother, but that is a different story, and lesson. But I can only see the younger son respond to the great love shown by his father with the deep love of his own heart. The amazing lesson for us is that when I throw myself on the mercy of Almighty God, I likewise find myself enveloped by His great love, fully and freely given to me by His grace. And, as I come to Him, I enter into a new relationship of love. 

Finally, for the son there was a new evaluation of life. Again, I confess that there is an element of conjecture here, but I cannot see this young man returning to his former way of life; accepting, again, his former values. And so it is with the re-born child of God. My sense of values changes as I walk with the Son. I see things, now, as God sees them. My priorities are changed. And all of that is the evidence that I have entered into a new life in Him. (Note v.2 of the song below!).

The lost son. I wonder if that part of the parable is speaking to you as you read! If is is, then come to the Father, Who is waiting and ready to receive you - in spite of your disobedience and rebellion - and welcome you into His family. 

Sin - 2.

In last week's post, we looked at the reality of sin - the simple fact that it taints each one of us from the very instant of our conception. This week, I wish to share something about the results of sin - in your life; in my life; in the world that we inhabit. We might say that if the reality of sin tells us what it is, and what it is not, then the results of sin refer to what it does.

In the last post, we went back to the very beginning, and looked at Genesis 3:1-6. In this post, we move on to the following verses - 7-16. "Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons." (Gen 3:7). The Word tells us that they immediately had their eyes opened, and became aware of their nakedness. May I suggest that they also, at that moment, realised that they had been disobedient? Their nakedness was, I would suggest, symbolic of the removal of Father God's protection. They had sinned, and the consequences had already been made clear! "And YHWH Elohim  commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." (Gen 2:16-17). This was not physical death, but spiritual death. 

Adam and Eve were all too aware of what they had done. So aware that, we read, "... they heard the sound of YHWH Elohim walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of YHWH Elohim among the trees of the garden." (Gen 3:8). Have you ever wondered why so many people seek to deny the very existence of the Creating God? I suspect that, for the vast majority, it's just their modern attempt at "hiding from God"! They are like the ostrich that allegedly hides its head in the sand in the hope that trouble will pass it by (that is, of course, a false allegation!). "If I deny that God exists, then I won't have to deal with Him!" However, that is not how things work!

My sin doesn't affect the existence of the Sovereign God of the universe, any more than did that of Adam and Eve! If I may analogise - the fact that certain people in the UK don't acknowledge HM Queen Elizabeth does not mean that she does not exist. I happen to have stood, on a couple of occasions, less than ten feet away from her, and I can give an absolute assurance that she is a real person. "Ah,", I can hear some folk say, "but you saw her with your own eyes. Have you seen God like that?!" The honest answer to that question is, of course, "No!". But that is not a complete answer. I have never "seen" the wind with my own eyes - but I have certainly seen its effects. I have never "seen" natural radiation, but my SW France body tan is clear evidence of its existence!; I have never seen a quark, but my physicist friends assure me that there is ample evidence of its existence.

Gen.3:9 shows the next stage in the saga. "But YHWH Elohim called to the man, and said to him, 'Where are you?'" The basic result of sin is that it takes us away from our Creator. That question, asked so long ago of our first parents, is one that still rings out: "Where are you?" You see, in spite of your sin, and mine, the loving father-heart of Almighty God, still seeks us out. We may try to avoid Him; to run away from Him; to ignore Him. But still, He reaches out, in love, and grace, and mercy. Sadly, so many refuse to respond. Instead, like Adam and Eve, they do what most of us still do when we are "in the wrong" - they "pass the buck"! 

"The man said, 'The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.' Then YHWH Elohim said to the woman, 'What is this that you have done?' The woman said, 'The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.'" (Gen 3:12-13). During my teaching career, I often wished that I could find the pupil named "Nae-me"! You see, the normal response to the question "Who did that" (and its variations!) was "It wisnae me"! ("It wasn't me", for those unfamiliar with the Lanarkshire dialect. I shall ignore the poor grammatical construction!).  It wis Nae-me. Someone else was responsible. It wasn't my fault! Indeed, Adam even appears to have been laying the blame on God: "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me," (emphasis added). If I could have identified "Nae-me", I could have put a stop to all disruptive behaviour in the school!

Sin has created a gulf between us and the Heavenly Father. That is its result! It's a gulf that none of us is able to cross. We are stranded, and deserve only the judgment, and wrath of the holy God Who cannot even look upon evil (see Hab.1:13). We may try to bridge that gulf by our own efforts - but we always fail (and we know it!). "New Year Resolutions"; "turning over a new leaf"; "starting all over again". Such concepts have never worked for me - and I would dare to claim that they have never worked for you, either!

So, does that mean that there is no hope. Thankfully, no! But that's for the next post!