A Series on the parables of Jesus
(Click on the link below to read the
verses.)
Luke 15:11-32
[During the first century, it was common
for a rabbi to use parables when teaching their disciples. The parables of
Jesus were stories that he told to illustrate spiritual truth using some
element from everyday life. Jesus used seeds, fish, trees, bread - things
people could easily relate to – for a “teachable moment”.]
Leaving home is a
big deal.
It was very painful for my wife and I when we took our daughter, who is our only child, to college her freshman year. My wife cried all the way home. Or was that me? Either way, it was a difficult time.
The thing is that’s what we’re supposed to do as parents. To prepare our kids to become
independent… to leave home… even though it hurts.
One of Jesus’ best-known parables is about a young man who left home, not to go to school or get a
job, but to do whatever he wanted. The parable of the Prodigal Son is about a
father and his two sons. The younger son decided that he’d had enough, so he
asked for his portion of the inheritance.
Once on his own, he
quickly spent it on wild living. When he was penniless, a famine hit
and it
became so bad that he took a job feeding pigs. For a Jew, this would have been the
ultimate demeaning job because pigs were considered ceremonially unclean.
When the son finally
hit bottom, he realized that his father’s servants had more food than he did. That
food, shelter and clothes were all readily available for him at home. That life
at home didn’t look so bad now.
In some ways, this
story is a metaphor. Home is where the Father is… our Heavenly Father. But,
like the younger son, there are times when we want more. We want to live by our
own rules. So, we leave home.
It might be for a
split second; or a minute; or a year; or a lifetime. But soon we find out that
all of the anticipated benefits of leaving home are a lie. And the home that we
were created for, that provides unconditional love, is with our Heavenly
Father.
The Good News is that he’ll take us back… every time. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done. Like the Father in the parable, he’ll rejoice upon our return.
“Turning to his servants, the father said,
‘Quick, bring me the best robe, my very own robe, and I will place it on his
shoulders. Bring the ring, the seal of sonship, and I will put it on his
finger. And bring out the best shoes you can find for my son." TPT
Then your Heavenly
Father will turn to you and say, “Welcome home”.
***
15 Anyone
with ears to hear should listen and understand!
Matthew
11 NLT
Copyright
