The Other Son
April 30, 2008 by Jonathan Brink
One of my favorite stories in Scripture is the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Some call it the parable of the Loving Father. And easily missed is the story of other son.
I don’t think the story is complete without the other son. He provides so much emotion and context for how people can feel when God exhibits profound mercy. The other son is the good son, the son that did it right, the son that did what he was supposed to do. The other son has truth on his side.
And I realized while reading this that grace and mercy are an offense to religion. They are offensive to my carefully constructed attempts to please God on my own. Mercy doesn’t make sense. It requires me to think outside of what I assume is justice.
And this is the journey within the kingdom. Which son do we connect with? Which son do we most feel like?
The other son makes me ask a question. Will we be surprised IF God chooses to restore all of His kingdom in the latter days? Will we be disappointed or even angry if His grace extends beyond our measure, the one that we have constructed? Will we respond, “How could you forgive so and so? How could you let HIM enter?”
And will we have any leg to stand on if He doesn’t do it our way?
BTW: After I wrote this I found this from Tracy.
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The Parable of the Lost Son
11Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31” ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ “
That reminds me of something I heard in a Sunday school class a couple years ago. The teacher said that we need to ask ourselves would we want to see someone like ourselves in Heaven. I remember it bothered me so much, because I think instead of asking that question we should say “Thank you Lord that Heaven will be filled with Forgiven sinners just like me.
It’s always good to hear from the broken pilgrim.
I’ve had alot of stuff going on in my life and had to put blogging on the back burner for awhile. I hope to be back in the conversation before to long. I’ve been kind of a lurker lately
Great thoughts. I have to think on the “Will we be surprised IF God chooses to restore all of His kingdom in the latter days?” question, It fits the story but I just don’t know.
I’m reading a book by John MacArthur about Luke 15 right now and his take seems to be drastically different, that the older son was like a Pharisee. That John MacArthur, what’ll he think of next…
“And I realized while reading this that grace and mercy are an offense to religion.” I have run into this more times than I can count in the last 3-4 years. I am continually amazed how people would rather believe in judgment and punishment, in do’s and dont’s, than in grace and mercy. I’ve come to the conclusion that religion is very “safe” to people. They can understand a god created in their own image and feel safe in the rules and regulations, but throw open the door and declare freedom and so many folks are too afraid to walk through it. Mercy, for some, is a truly scary thought if they cannot earn it.