So the Party Began

June 25, 2019

So the Party Began

 “We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.”

Luke 15:23b-24 (Parable of the Prodigal Son: Luke 15:11-24)

This parable is commonly referred to as the parable of The Prodigal Son because the young son spent his inheritance freely and recklessly; he was wastefully extravagant. However, Jesus’ parable is not about the younger son; it’s about his father. You could call it the parable of the Prodigal Father, because the father was surely free, reckless and extravagant in his homecoming welcome for his young son.

The young son’s homecoming is a compelling vision of our life in Christ. The young son came to his father with all that he had: dirt, filth, sinfulness, brokenness. Immediately, the father gives the young son all that he has: his love, blessing, and affirmation of the young son’s truest identity as the beloved child of his father.

Jesus told this parable because the Pharisees objected to Jesus keeping company with tax collectors and sinners. When Jesus said “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found”, Jesus hoped the Pharisees would recall Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37). In that vision Israel, who was lost, was made alive again by the power of God. This is how Jesus saw the people accepting his invitation to come into the Kingdom of God. These children of God were dead, but are now alive again. That, Jesus believes, is cause for exuberant celebration.

Henri Nouwen, in his book, The Return of The Prodigal Son, says, "If the only meaning of the story (Luke 15, The Prodigal Son) were that people sin but God forgives, I could easily begin to think of my sins as a fine occasion for God to show me forgiveness. There would be no challenge in such an interpretation. I would resign myself to my weaknesses and keep hoping that eventually God would close his eyes to them and let me come home, whatever I did. Such romanticism is not the message of the Gospels. "What I am called to make true is that whether I am the younger or elder son, I am the son of my compassionate Father. I am an heir. . . . as son and heir I am to become successor. I am destined to step into my Father's place and offer to others the same compassion that he has offered me. The return to the Father is ultimately the challenge to become the Father. . . . I know how much I long to return and be held safe, but do I really want to be son and heir with all that that implies? Being in the Father's house requires that I make the Father's life my own and become transformed in his image."

My Takeaway: I am again challenged to examine my own life by asking two questions:

How much exuberant celebration do I extend when a person makes a confession of faith in Jesus?

Is the compassion I offer to others the same compassion that Abba has offered me?

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2019 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.