Friday, December 11, 2009
Lost and Found, Part 73 of 78
TEXT: "Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.' But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found' " (Luke 15:25-32).
IDEA: We can show the spirit of the Pharisee when we take for granted the benefits that come to us by grace.
PURPOSE: To diagnose the spirit of the Pharisee in me.
Charles Dickens said that in selecting characters for his stories, he often chose people he knew. Sometimes those people would tell him that they felt that a particular character in one of his stories was outlandish. Dickens remarked, “They looked into the mirror, but they didn’t see themselves in the glass.”
It’s possible for us to read the Bible in the same unseeing way. Jesus tells a story in Luke 15 to help us with this:
"Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.' But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' "
Jesus was talking about the Pharisees and the religious prudes of his time, but He was also talking to some of us about us. How would you know that there lurks in you the attitude of the elder brother?
One question you might ask is, “Are you at home in the Father’s house?”
This young man was constantly with the Father, but he is clearly discontent with his lot. During this incident he clearly resents his Father’s grace to his brother.
In My Fair Lady is the song, “I’ve grown accustomed to her face.” It’s possible to grow accustomed to God’s grace.
This young man had the bounty of the father’s table.
He had the benefit of the father’s presence.
He had been given a double share of the inheritance.
But he feels that the father has not dealt fairly with him.
Why do you think it’s possible for people who have been richly blessed of God to feel restless and upset in the Father’s house?
