Have you ever had a song get stuck in your head? For me, if it’s not a song, it’s a Bible verse or passage of scripture. I thought that I was putting the series on parables on the shelf (at least for a while), but the parable of the Prodigal Son keeps coming back to me. If you haven’t read my post on the Prodigal Son yet, I personally think it’s pretty good even when I’m a bit raw and transparent with my stupid choices (Come to Your Senses). But while it’s good, I feel as though it’s incomplete.
As I studied through the parable, the usual jumped out at me – the one son going out and making stupid choices but eventually restored. I couldn’t help but notice the other brother this time. And it stuck with me. Take a look at the parable (always read the Bible for yourself) found in Luke 15:11-32, but I’m specifically looking at Luke 15:25-31 this time.
The younger brother has gone, off to live the high life with his inheritance, and has left his father and older brother. Now, the older brother is mentioned at the beginning and the end, but it’s pretty clear that we can deduce that he remained in his father’s house and continued to do as he had always done – the right thing. We can see in the passage that he says he has worked hard for his father (some translations use the word slaved) and has done everything that was ever asked of him (he was obedient).
How many of us have struggled with comparison? We work hard, but we’re always struggling to make ends meet. We show up early, do everything that we’re told to do, and we might receive a mere pat on the back.
One son left. One son stayed. But what I can’t help but see is that proximity for the son who stayed didn’t automatically translate to intimacy with his dad. His relationship was that of a servant and master, not a father and son. He was there, but he was working as though approval and love from his father had to be earned.
Now look at how his dad responded. First, in verse 28, we’re told that the father went out to him. He wasn’t standing at a distance. His actions were that of retrieving another son that he loved. Now look at what he says:
‘”My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.'” Luke 15:31 NIV
Can we just sit with this a minute? He calls him son and says you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
How many of us have tried over and over to prove ourselves? We go through life living for God’s approval, but Jesus has already made us approved! The son who stayed was trying to earn his place with the father, but his place was already secured simply by being his son. It was his very identity!
While this parable is typically taught as a message of hope for those who have gone astray, it is also a message about who Jesus has restored us to be. God loves us! As soon as we have chosen to accept Jesus’ free gift of salvation, we belong in the house because we are sons and daughters. We’re not a guest that might be asked to leave.
The son who stayed had latched onto the identity of servant in the house instead of son. Everything I have is yours… That’s access that no servant has! A fellow blogger describes this identity crisis in the body of Christ as a tragedy. Instead of celebrating restoration, there are so many who want to have their record of good deeds rewarded. And the father – God, the Father – in all His goodness (and because of His goodness) shatters that practice.
That’s grace. Grace says that there’s no record to refer to, only whether there was an acceptance or rejection of Jesus. The performance mindset is offended by the message of grace because it completely removes leverage. One son or daughter isn’t better than the other or more welcome in the house because they performed better than someone else.
It’s all about Jesus and what He paid for with His life. There is no boasting… There is no competing. We’re not in the house on a trial basis or a visitor’s pass; we have permanent access to the Father. We are always with the Father, and everything He has is ours.
We need to ditch the slave mentality. We are adopted as sons and daughters as soon as we accept Jesus’ sacrifice. We have full placement into the family, all of our debts for all time are cancelled, and we receive a new identity. Our adoption was signed with Jesus’ blood and sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14). God wants relationship from His kids, not performance.
It’s a beautiful thing that we can accept Jesus into our lives, but that wasn’t the goal of the cross. The goal of the cross was so that we could be accepted into relationship with God. And God was fully aware of every failure before time began.
Luke 15, the entire chapter, is about celebrating the retrieval of what had been lost. First a sheep, then a coin, and finally a son. But it was never to take away from the value of those who were still on the right course. The parable of the Prodigal Son, though, can also be an invitation for those who have been striving to rest in the identity of sonship (daughter-ship, too).
The son who stayed worked hard and did everything he was told to do, but his obedience is never what secured his father’s blessing. Nothing in what the father said in Luke 15:31 referred to tasks or obedience. It spoke of identity, familiarity, and blessing. My son… you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. No one works to earn what they already have possession of. We have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing through Jesus’ sacrifice (Ephesians 1:3). Already. Not working towards it… not something we’re trying to earn. It’s ours! Everything He has is ours!
When Jesus taught the disciples how to pray (teaching us, too – Matthew 6:9-13), He didn’t start off with the words My Father, who art in heaven… No, He used the words Our Father. He’s our Father. And we’re His kids. We get to boldly come into the throne room – with or without issues – and receive grace (Hebrews 4:16) – picture a kid running and jumping onto their dad’s lap. That’s the access we have to the Father because of Jesus.
This is what has been going through my head… the lesser known part of the parable that seems to be overshadowed, but just as important. Grace isn’t just for the lost sheep, the lost coin, or the lost son. It’s for those who stayed but didn’t recognize that they were already home.
The real party starts when all of the Father’s kids come inside to enjoy their inheritance. Grace is available. Will you come inside?