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From Desk of…Lessons from the elder son

July 16, 2012
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By Dave Hudson, Colonel

Most Christians have heard from childhood Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son—a young man asking his father for his share of the inheritance, squandering it on wild living, then coming to his senses and returning home to find love, acceptance and forgiveness. The story often ends there.

It is important, however, to look at the audience to whom Jesus is speaking. He is talking to two groups of people—sinners who “gathered to hear him” and the teachers of the law who “muttered” about Jesus’ acceptance of sinners. Jesus, then, is speaking to both the non-religious and the religious.

The three characters in the tale are all critical. While often ignored, the elder son is as much of a focal point of the story as the younger. Jesus is clearly directing the elder son’s part of the story toward the religious leaders, those who were criticizing him for associating with “sinners.”

In the story, the older son hears the sound of a party and calls one of the servants to find out what is going on. He is told about his brother’s return, and rather than being happy, he is furious! He does not come into the house, so the father goes out to him.

“This is not fair,” he told his father. “Look what I have done for you all these years. I have worked like a slave. I have always obeyed you. And, what did I get for it? Nothing! Now, this son of yours [he cannot call him by name] returns after going out partying, having a wild time, and spending all your money, and what do you do? Throw him a party!”

Notice his words to the father: “I have been slaving for you.” His resentment has been building for years. Now the father is going to get an earful. “I have done everything for you, and you have not even given me a goat.”

The older brother believes that he deserves to be a son because of all of the good he has done, all the rules he has followed, all of the days he had “slaved” for his father. In his speech we see that he has been operating under the assumption that his years of slaving were actually earning him good standing with his father. He thinks his father loves him because of how obedient he’s been. He is deserving of favor because of his work. The elder son fails to see that he has not been a slave—he is a son. His father was not cheap with him; he could have anything he wanted.

It is not that the father has not been fair with elder son; it’s that the father never intended to be fair in the first place. God’s grace is never fair—at its very essence, grace is unmerited favor. The father sees the younger son’s return as an occasion to practice unfairness. The younger son does not deserve a party; that’s the point. In God’s economy people do not get what they deserve. Thank God!

Neither son understands that the father’s love cannot be earned, nor taken away. In the end, the younger is repentant, as he is aware of his sin; the elder son is resentful, as he assumes himself to be righteous.

Resentment is frequently a sin of the faithful. We tend to believe that God rewards our faithfulness with love and acceptance; therefore, it’s earned. What we fail to realize is that God freely gives his love and acceptance without condition. Sadly, the attitude of the elder son is prevalent in the church today. We are often so obsessed with “doing the most good” that we overlook—and even undervalue—God’s grace.

Notice that the father goes out to meet both sons, rather than waiting for them to come to him. I thank God that he is not only eager to forgive when we overtly sin, but also during our lapses into self-righteousness.

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