Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue.
As we continue in our study of the parable of the Prodigal son, let's focus on the central figure in the story -- the father. The father is much like the helpless parent whose unending love is neither understood nor appreciated by either son. He allows his sons to make their own decisions, despite how bad those choices may be. No matter what terrible wrong they may commit, he loves them -- a perfect picture of the love of our Heavenly Father has for his children.
Notwithstanding the father's love, the younger son wants to see him dead, so he can receive his inheritance, while the elder son is self righteously preoccupied with the "good standing" he has "earned". Their father's unconditional love for them is completely beyond their comprehension.
The younger son begins to understand his father's love only after his rebellion bears its bitter fruit, he is desperate, helpless and humbled, and finally returns desiring just to be a servant -- yet upon his return he experiences the love of his father who prepares a kingly feast for him and restores him as a son.
What happens in the heart of the elder son is uncertain. He has been working in the field seeking to earn his father's love and acceptance. So he explodes with self-righteous anger when his father prepares a feast for his undeserving delinquent brother. Since his understanding of love is conditional, he can't believe that his father would reward his brother's behavior -- and he jealously wonders why his Dad has never lavished him this way. No hint of love or joy over his brother's repentance or his father's relief when he returns. Instead, he calls him the "son of his father" (Luke 15:20) and is filled with bitterness and accusation. Perhaps it amazed him to begin to realize that his father's love had all the time been unconditional and freely given without measure simply because they are his sons. We can only hope he finally softened under that realization.
God is not just a "loving" God -- the scripture says that "God IS love" [1 John 4:6]. When we fully realize that His love cannot be earned but is freely given, then we will serve our Father because of His love for us! With so much work to be done, let's be sure we're working in and out of love -- and not because we're trying to earn it!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]We are on the brink of something huge this year— it’s REVOLUTIONARY. If you’re following Worthy News, you’ll see we posted an interesting article yesterday about the rise of Artificial Intelligence and the ability to produce the Bible in untranslated languages more quickly because of it. I guess God can use anything to further His Kingdom!
We’re living in some pretty wild times, aren’t we? Over the past few weeks, we’ve watched a political earthquake shake America, sending ripple effects all over the world. Some people see it as a positive change, others think it’s for the worse — but one thing is clear: we are in a season of shifting. And the big question is, will we take this opportunity to boldly stand for truth while the doors are open?
In the 4th century lived a Christian named Telemachus, in a remote village, tending his garden, and spending much time in prayer. One day, he believed he heard the voice of God telling him to go to Rome, so he obeyed, setting out on foot. Some weeks later, weary from his journey, he arrived in Rome about the time of a great festival.
One of my heroes of the faith, Watchman Nee, once said something profound about entering the rest of God. He said, “Carnal Christians crave works; yet amid many labors, they are unable to maintain calm in their spirit. They cannot fulfill God’s orders quietly as can the spiritual believers… their hearts are governed by outward matters. Being “distracted with much serving” (Luke 10:40) is the characteristic of the work of any soulish believer. They have not yet entered the rest of God.”
Thousands are gathering in Washington D.C. today to pray for the inauguration of the new president of the United States. I know a number of people who will be there and I think it’s a good thing, but this reminds me of a story I heard once.
We arrived at the airport late Thursday night with our bags and our kiddos only to find out that our flight was canceled because of a freak accident — a tractor ran into the plane, of all things! So we repacked our ourselves tightly into a small rental car to make the two hour drive to get back home to Arad in the middle of the night. Our flight was postponed till Sunday.
The Hebrew letter mem, equivalent to our English letter “M,” has a fascinating characteristic: it has two forms. The “open mem” appears at the beginning or middle of a word, with a small opening in its design. The “closed mem,” however, is used exclusively as the final letter in a word, fully sealed in its appearance. This distinction is consistent throughout the Hebrew language—except for one extraordinary exception found in the Bible.