God's thought, not your thought

(It isn't about the Prodigal son alone)

Bible Texts (Concordant Version of the Old Testament and Concordant Literal New Testament with keywords Concordance-CLNT (Luke 15:1-32; Isaiah 55:8-9; Psalm 100:3; 1 Timothy 4:10)                                

                                                                       

"Now, all the tribute collectors and sinners were coming near Him to be hearing Him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying that "this man sinners is receiving, and is eating with them!". Now, He told them this parable, saying, "What man of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, is not leaving the ninety-nine in the wilderness and is going after the lost one, till he may be finding it?.....Now, He said, A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to the father, Father, give me the part of the estate accruing to me....Now h said to him that your brother is arriving.....Now, he is indignant and would not enter. Yet his father, coming out, entreated him. Now, he answering said to his father. Lo! so many years am I slaving for you, and I never passed by tour precept.".. . Luke 15:1-32

Introduction:

               Have you ever heard that blood is thicker than water? Oh yes. It is true. We humans are created by Elohim Yahweh and he puts us all in his pasture (the world) according to Psalm 100:3. We are created to fulfill his plan in this world. It means he is more concerned about his creatures much more than his creatures may do. Sometimes, we are forgetful when we seem to question why Yahweh shows favor on some people and he appears to be unfair to others. The question is, is he unfair? Is there no reason for his actions and inactions? This week's blog is written to remind us that God's ways and thoughts are not ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). Above all, God will never cast his creatures away from him forever because nothing will separate us from him (Romans 9:35-39).

Here are some truths to hold dear to your heart this week:

The Grumble:

Yeshua picked grumble from the Pharisees and teachers of Moses' laws when they saw him speaking and eating with tribute collectors and "sinners". The Pharisees called these people sinners. So, Yeshua was not expected to indulge or associate with these kinds of people. They did not know that Yeshua came to save those that were lost (Luke 19:10).

The calmness and analysis of Yeshua:

In Luke chapter 15, I love how Yeshua addressed the Pharisees and teachers. Yeshua did not confront them angrily. He dealt with them through three parables. He could have only stopped after he had informed them of a Shepherd that abandoned 99 sheep in the wilderness and looked for one sheep that was missing (Luke 15:3-7). He went further to talk about a woman who found her missing gold coin after some hours spent searching for it but celebrated with her neighbors after the coin was found (Luke 15: 8-10). I hoped these two parables should be sufficed. Not so fast. He still went ahead and delivered a wonderful message on the young man who took the part of his father's estate and went away into the city. He squandered the money and became poor, tattered and hungry. It was famine time according to the story. This poor young man was accepted by his father eventually. What a great story.

The Pharisees would not like this outcome:

Towards the end of the third parable, Yeshua mentioned some salient points which I like you to observe too.

1. The poor young man realized that his father had enough to feed people in the time of famine. He wanted to become is father's slaves because he had concluded in his mind that he did not deserve to be called his father's son any longer. This is what the Pharisees would have happily nodded their heads to. Why? It is because they love to show work to demonstrate their uprightness to Moses' commandments. This helps to promote their self righteousness and chest-pumping of the proud and zealous God's people.

2.  The poor young man ran towards his father who saw him from a far. He recounted his bad deeds to his father. The Pharisees would expect his father to either reject this young man or make him one of the servants as a token of mercy because he did not deserve to come back anyway.

                                                                            

3. To the surprise of this poor young man, his father ignored this seemingly "sinner's" pleas/prayers but changed the young man's clothes to a fine-looking prince outfit. He killed a young fat bull for this man. He called his servants and neighbors to celebrate with him for this great occasion. The actions of this father are not what the Pharisees would have expected from Yeshua to say. They would probably have concluded in their minds that Yeshua was a false teacher because such actions cannot be found in the Ten Commandments!

4. The elder son was not happy at his father's decision. While pouring out his grievance to his father, he referred to his younger son as "this son of yours"...He recounted all bad things this younger son have done....The Pharisees could relate with this. This elder son's behavior was right on the street of the Pharisees. However, his father enlightened this self righteous elder son that the younger son was blind but now, he could see. He was lost but now, he was found.

What does this means?

5. There will come to be a time that everyone will come to the knowledge of Christ work of salvation (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). Not everyone will come to this knowledge in this current eon. Those who have truly come to this knowledge are like the young man in this parable. Those who claim to have known him but are sad at the coming to the knowledge of truth by other people are exhibiting self righteousness.

6. By grace we have been saved. Not out of us but through the work done by Christ Yeshua (Ephesians 2:8-9). Those who believed they have been saved by their outward demonstrations of accepting Christ into their life, attending places of worship because they have to surrender everything they have to "him" have not truly come to the knowledge of this work of salvation. There is no need to be in any religion institution to demonstrate your knowledge of this salvation. Freely you were given (Matthew 10:8). Your sins were paid in full (John 19:30).

7.  Your contributions are not required. Those who are in the habit of showing work instead of faith through Christ on the work of salvation were satisfying their conscience because they believe in work instead of faith. This is why they have not genuinely come to the knowledge of the truth that Yeshua is the savior of all mankind especially of the believers (1 Timothy 4:10). It is priceless. You cannot earn it by your efforts. The faith is given by God. If you do not have it now, you will have it later.

8. Towards the end of this third parable, the elder son learnt a lesson from his father that people's attitudes towards Yahweh will change once they come to the knowledge of the work of salvation through Christ. They will perceive God in a different way. They will have freedom in Christ and hope of life eonian. This will also reflect in their behaviors towards their fellow human beings.

Conclusion:

I believe this blog may be a loaded one for you, but it is very simple. Yahweh will never lose anyone just like the father in the third parable never cast his younger son away.  I believe that the elder son would not let his younger brother be disowned by his father as well. Indeed, blood is thicker than water. The Pharisees may not like the way Yeshua ended this beautiful story because their eyes have been blinded so that they would not see and repent from their sinful ways. This situation is still very much happening to those who believe they know God of Heavens and Earth but not truly. If they know him truly, they will understand the work Yeshua had done for the whole world is without any man's effort.

                                                                       

 

                                                                         

Thanks for reading this week's blog.

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Shalom!

Picture credit: picture of prodigal son painting - Search