“Now, the older son was out working in the field when his brother returned, and as he approached the house, he heard the music of celebration and dancing. 26 So he called over one of the servants and asked, ‘What’s going on?’
27 “The servant replied, ‘It’s your younger brother. He’s returned home and your father is throwing a party to celebrate his homecoming.’
28 “The older son became angry and refused to go in and celebrate. So, his father came out and pleaded with him, ‘Come and enjoy the feast with us!’
29 “The son said, ‘Father, listen! How many years have I been working like a slave for you, performing every duty you’ve asked as a faithful son? And I’ve never once disobeyed you. But you’ve never thrown a party for me because of my faithfulness. Never once have you even given me a goat that I could feast on and celebrate with my friends like he’s doing now. 30 But look at this son of yours! He comes back after wasting your wealth on prostitutes and reckless living, and here you are throwing a great feast to celebrate—for him!’
31 “The father said, ‘My son, you are always with me by my side. Everything I have is yours to enjoy. 32 It’s only right to celebrate like this and be overjoyed, because this brother of yours was once dead and gone, but now he is alive and back with us again. He was lost but now he is found!’”
Luke 15:25-32
Who is the Older Son?
The older son is an interesting character in this parable. I believe he represents so many of us who are in the church right now. Unlike the younger son, the older son was still in the Father’s house and yet he still lost his identity. And as with the younger son, it was for the Father to restore the older son back to his position.
The older son represents those that have been in the Church for a while. He represents those who have been doing things for God out of obligation rather than relationship. He represents those who view a relationship with God as a transactional tit for tat relationship. If deep down in your heart you believe that because you serve God, God is obliged to do things for you, then this message is for you. I was quite excited to write on the older son because there was a time when I was an older son. I used to do things because I expected either praise, elevation or recognition of some sort. And when I didn’t receive it or I saw others being promoted, it would hurt, and the green-eyed monster would rear its ugly head. But we thank God for Deliverance. So today we have a former “slave” writing to you about how the Prodigal father relates to the “slave” and I will be drawing from my own experiences to better illustrates the lessons from this parable.
The Older Son’s Location
The bible says the older son was working out in the field and when he returned and found out about the celebration, he refused to come in. He chose to remain outside. Why? I can imagine that he would have been tired from working all day. Probably he was all sweaty and his clothes were all dirty from working in the fields. Rather than going inside to freshen up, he refuses and chooses to stay outside. This is because the field is where he drew his sense of self-worth. Rather than his value being inherent in the fact that he was a son, he believed that it was his works that deemed him worthy of any praise. That’s why he complained saying all these years I have been slaving for you, but you have never given me so much as a goat.
The older son’s location represents our heart postures when in relationship with God and in service to Him. Paul, in 1st Corinthians 5, speaks about how Christ’s love motivates and fuels his passion. For older sons, it is not Christ’s love that fuels passion but what we can get from Christ. And it’s so easy to be deceived. Trust me. You will do things thinking love compels you to serve. But the truth is in the pudding when others are celebrated, and you are not, how do you react? Do you join in the celebration of your brother or sister, or do you refuse and stay outside? You could be clapping and cheering but inside there is that little heaviness of jealousy. You refuse to enter in. In your heart you choose to stay outside. Mel, how do you know this? I have felt it before. When others were promoted, and I felt jealous. I genuinely didn’t understand what was going on. I took the matter to God and confessed, “Lord I am jealous, and I don’t understand why”. That is when God began to show me that my heart was not turned toward Him as I served, but toward recognition and praise from when. When I didn’t receive any praise, it hurt me, and I felt jealous if others were. I remember when God showed me my heart, I repented and, in that moment, I was freed. I didn’t realise I was free until a while later when I realised that I was genuinely celebrating the success and recognition of others without any sign of heaviness. If God can do it for me, He can do it for you.
The Older Son’s attitude
The word of God says, “What has been stored up in your hearts will be seen by your fruit and heard in the overflow of your words.” Eventually what you constantly think will come out. Although the older son called himself a “faithful son”, in his heart, he didn’t believe this. Listen to his words:
How many years have I been working like a slave for you, performing every duty you’ve asked as a faithful son?
That word “AS” when the older son describes himself is interesting. Just because something is described “as” something it doesn’t mean it is that thing. An example can be found in Isaiah 40:31. The bible says those who wait on the Lord will “mount up with wings as eagles.” This doesn’t literally mean you will sprout up wings and fly. Its just a simile. I find it interesting that Jesus chose to use the words “as a faithful son” as the son spoke of obedience rather than "because I am a faithful son". Out of his heart, the son spoke. He really did not see himself as a son. And even worse, he did not identify himself as his father’s son. Look at his words more closely as he speaks of himself and his brother. He says of himself, as A faithful son, not as your faithful son. But of his brother, he says “this son of yours”. This is the heart-breaking reality for many us in the Christian faith today. We really don’t see ourselves as part of God’s family. Deep down, we think it is what we do that matters to God. That we are not enough and we need to perform to be loved. And sadly, this is the culture in some churches. The more you serve, the more you are praised and so you begin to equate love with praise because of service. Yet God says “It is who you are, not what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.”
The Prodigal Father and the Slave
The Father never acknowledges or addresses the label of slave as it relates to his son. He goes to the heart the matter and says some words that are so powerful in their simplicity and essence.
“MY SON. YOU ARE ALWAYS BY MY SIDE.”
Where the older son felt forgotten and marginalised, the Father shows him that he knew he was always there."I have seen your faithfulness, you are always by my side". I believe that’s what God is saying to some of us today. He sees our faithfulness and He knows we are always by his side. I remember just before God revealed to me my heart posture in service, I felt Him say, "My redeeming nature extends to redeem even things past". When I felt that I had no idea what it meant, but I knew when the time came, I would understand. A few days later, while in prayer God showed me why I served the way I served and felt the way I felt. All I did was done in search of recognition and praise from people. I remember breaking down in tears that day and repenting before my Father. I remember saying I'm sorry that I was serving from the wrong place for such a long time. I felt I had wasted time. And then the words came back, "My redeeming nature extends to redeem even things past". As He said that, I got a sense that He was saying that because I had repented, He had redeemed my service to Himself. In law there is a term known as rectification whereby a court can order a change in a written document to reflect what it ought to have said in the first place. In that instance of prayer, I felt that God had rectified my service in His house so that rather than serving man, He counted my service as toward Him. This is the power of true repentance. Not in the ability of man to change his mind, but in the power of God to redeem, rectify and remember our sin no more.
EVERYTHING I HAVE IS YOURS TO ENJOY.
That is literally what God is saying. EVERYTHING He has is ours to enjoy. In Colossians 1:19 it says, “For it pleased the Father that in Him (Christ) all the fullness should dwell”. I love this verse in the Passion translation. It says “God is satisfied to have all his fullness dwelling in Christ. 20 And by the blood of his cross, everything in heaven and earth is brought back to himself—back to its original intent, restored to innocence again!” All of God’s fullness, His holiness, His plans for our lives, everything is for us to enjoy. That’s the beauty of relationship with God. It’s a discovery. The word in Proverbs say, “God conceals the revelation of His word in the hiding place of his glory, but the honour of kings is revealed by how they thoroughly search out the deeper meaning of all that God says.” He hides things not from us but for us. Because everything He has is ours to enjoy. It pleases God when we discover more of Him. Determine it in your heart today that God wants you to find Him. He doesn’t make it hard for us. He says he will be found by those who diligently seek him. . Imagine that, it pleases God when you enjoy Him. He wants us to enjoy Him. When he teaches us new things, reveals His gifts in us. That excitement you get when you prophesy and it comes to pass. The excitement you get when you pray and you see people healed. The excitement you get when something you are believing for actually happens. All these things work to reveal the Father. And He loves to reveal himself. Why? Because Everything He has is for us to enjoy.
IT’S ONLY RIGHT TO CELEBRATE LIKE THIS AND BE OVERJOYED,
Through these words, the Father corrected wrong thinking. Across all the parables in Luke 15, Jesus constantly re-emphasizes the point that there is more rejoicing in heaven over one person who repents than all the righteous people who stay righteous. I think for us we forget this. As wonderful it is to stay, how much better is it to come back. And I think the father explains it beautifully when he says IT’S ONLY RIGHT TO CELEBRATE LIKE THIS AND BE OVERJOYED, BECAUSE THIS BROTHER OF YOURS WAS ONCE DEAD AND GONE, BUT NOW HE IS ALIVE AND BACK WITH US AGAIN. Would you not celebrate if someone who was dead and gone came back to life? Rather than judging and pushing away those who have walked away from God, we, as those still in the fold, need to love them back to the fold. Its not for us to change their behaviour or actions, we don’t have that power. All we need to do is show them the love that God has shown us. For when we love, we glorify God… “and if [His] Name be lifted up He will draw all men to Himself.” When someone who did not know God, or knew God but fell away comes back, its only right that we celebrate. When we begin seeing those people grow in their love for God begin to serve and be used in an amazing way, it is only right for us to celebrate. For those who were once dead and gone, are now alive, revitalised and back with us again
THIS BROTHER OF YOURS
The final thing I want talk about is how the Father began restoring the relationship between the two sons. I had never thought about how the older son would have felt at his younger brother leaving. A rift was created between the two. The older son calls his younger brother “this son of yours” distancing himself from any relationship with his brother. This really hits home for me. I left home at a young age and I had never thought about how that affected my siblings. One day, my sister called me in tears, “You have no idea what you leaving did.” Without God and intentionality in developing a bond, I don’t know if I would be as close to my siblings as I am now. When the Father said this brother of yours, he was reminding his older son that there is a love relationship there. A relationship that you cannot allow to be broken because of past mistakes.
The Story with No end.
Interestingly, we never know what happened after the Father and Son spoke. Did he stay outside, did he go in? Did he have great relationship with his brother or were they forever estranged? I believe Jesus intentionally left this part out. It is for us to decide how we proceed. Do we continue to choose to stay on the outside, or do we choose to go in and celebrate with others…? The choice is yours…
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