Most of us assume the person far from God is the one who walked away. In the story Jesus tells in Luke 15, though, both sons end up outside their father's house, one because he ran off in rebellion and the other because he stayed home and grew proud of how well he had behaved.
The father goes out after both of them. That matters on an ordinary Tuesday, because it means the way home is never through trying harder or keeping score, but through receiving grace we didn't earn and then making room for others to receive it too.
The Story in Brief
Jesus told this parable after religious leaders grumbled that he "welcomes sinners and eats with them" (Luke 15:2). A younger son demands his inheritance early, wastes it, and heads home with a rehearsed apology, only to be met by a father who runs to him and throws a feast. The older son, who never left, hears the music and refuses to go in, so the father leaves his own party to plead with him too. Jesus ends the story without telling us whether the older brother ever went inside.
Living It Out This Week
Come home honestly
The younger son wanted his father's possessions more than his father's presence, and it took hitting bottom for him to come to his senses and turn back. Repentance is more than being sorry that life got hard; it is turning back to God himself.
Try this: Name one area where you've wanted God's blessings more than God, and bring it to him in prayer this week without dressing it up.
Notice where you keep score
The older brother called his own brother "this son of yours" and talked to his father like a servant owed wages rather than a son who was loved. It's possible to attend church, read your Bible and serve faithfully while quietly resenting the grace God shows to someone else, because we've forgotten how much we need it ourselves.
Sit with this: Whose welcome home would be hardest for you to celebrate, and what does that reveal?
Lean on the older Brother who came for you
Neither son could bring himself home. Jesus, "the firstborn among many brothers and sisters" (Romans 8:29), lived in perfect obedience to the Father, then gave his life on the cross and rose again to open the way back. Timothy Keller named a whole book about this parable The Prodigal God, because prodigal can also describe someone who gives lavishly, and that is exactly what the Father does through Jesus.
Try this: The next time you catch yourself comparing your record to someone else's, stop and thank God for one specific way he has been lavish with you.
For Your Small Group
Whether you're reading on your own or getting ready to lead your group, take these questions slowly and let them point you toward one honest step this week.
Read Luke 15:1-2 and 11-32. Which son do you relate to more right now, and what makes you say that?
The younger son wanted his father's things more than his father. Where are you tempted to want God's blessings more than God himself?
What's the difference between being sorry that life got hard and turning back to God? What would that turn look like for you this week?
The older brother never left home, yet he ended up outside the celebration. How can faithful obedience or church involvement slowly become a reason to look down on others?
How does seeing Jesus as the older Brother who came to bring us home change the way you think about your own record and other people's?
Who in your life needs to experience the Father's welcome, and what's one way you or your group could move toward them this week?
A Practice and Prayer for the Week
Think of one person you'd normally keep at arm's length, and move toward them the way the father moved toward both of his sons, whether that's a conversation, a meal or a kind word they weren't expecting.
Father, whether I've wandered off or grown proud standing close by, thank you for coming after me. Let your grace fill me with joy and spill over toward the people around me this week. In Jesus' name, amen.
Join Us Sunday
We're continuing through Luke in our series The Main Thing, and we'd love to have you with us. Join us at Souderton at 9:00 and 10:30am or Quakertown at 9:30am.