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Even if you are not a
Christian, you have probably
heard of the biblical parable of
the prodigal son found in Luke
15. Over the years, many have
found comfort in the story’s
account of a repentant sinner
receiving free forgiveness for a
life consumed by wild and
foolish living. But is that the
entire point of the story? I don’t
believe that it is.
Recently, I read a book by
Timothy Keller called
Prodigal
God
. This book reveals that the
parable of the lost son is better
viewed as a tale of two lost sons,
and of the free grace of a loving
father who invites both the
sinful son and the “righteous”
son to join him at his feast.
Typically, those writing
about or preaching on this story
highlight one major character –
the prodigal son. He has selfishly
consumed his father’s money,
left his homeland to seek
pleasure,
found
himself
famished, and has decided to
return home broken and
humiliated, only to be greeted by
his loving father with open arms
and an abundance of grace.
But, the story doesn’t stop
there. As the story continues, Jesus
reveals
an
often-overlooked
character– the prodigal son’s older
brother. After the father accepts the
wayward son back, he then holds a
lavish feast in honor of his lost son’s
return and repentance.Meanwhile,
the older brother sees this taking
place and demands an answer as to
why the father is blessing his
brother who has abandoned and
shamed the family. The father begs
the older brother to come in and
join the festivities but he refuses to
do so. The older brother then
reminds the father of all the hard
work he has done for himand how
obedient he has been. The older
son is highly offended that his
faithfulness and obedience has not
earned him the same kind of royal
treatment that the father is freely
giving to his clearly undeserving
younger brother.
Surprisingly enough, when
you get beneath the surface of the
story, you see that these seemingly
different characters are actually
very similar. They are both rebels,
both having no genuine love or
respect for their father. Both try to
manipulate him by – one of the
sons blatantly disrespecting the
father and lavishly wasting the
family’s wealth, and the other , by
his cold sense of entitlement and
his self-righteous spirit. Neither
son shows true love for the father;
rather, they love himonly to get his
things without any desire for true
fellowship with him. As Keller
states in
Prodigal God
, “Neither son
loved the father for himself. They
bothwere using the father for their
own self-centered ends rather than
loving, enjoying, and serving him
for his own sake. This means that
you can rebel against God and be
alienated from him either by
breaking his rules or by keeping all
of them diligently. It’s a shocking
message: Careful obedience to
God’s law may serve as a strategy
for rebelling against God.”
At first glance, I am sure we
can all find our own story in the
prodigal son’s tale. But, I think we
often miss the strong connection
that many of us have with the
pompous and judgmental older
brother. Often times, I go through
my “list” -
I’ve never murdered
anyone, I paymy taxes, I vote, I pick
up trash when I see it, I give to the
poor, I pray quick prayers when I see
homeless people on the street, I work
at a Christian newspaper
, and so
on. I boastfully check off all of the
good, moral things that I do that
God must be pleased with, on top
of the fact that my “good Christian
life” no longer resembles anything
like the younger brother’s clearly
sinful behavior. But, in doing so, I
become just like the prideful, self-
righteous older brother and, in the
process, miss my need for Jesus
completely. My older brother
mentality becomes even more
evident when I struggle seeing
people who are “less righteous”
than me receiving grace, mercy
and blessings from God that I
believe they are undeserving of.
All too often, we hear that we
must complete these “five step to
obedience” or the like, and only
then will God be able to accept us
and bless us with a happy and
fulfilled life. Sadly, I amashamed to
admit that this has also been my
mindset for many years. Recently,
God has shown me that my “do
good, get good” mentality is not at
all what the gospel is about. The
truth of the gospel is not that good
people get good things and bad
people get bad things. The truth of
the gospel is that the worst people
(which are all of us, according to
God’s law) get the best things
through the redeeming and
justifying work of Jesus.
So, which brother are you? If
your first response is to think, “I’m
good, I’m humble, I read my Bible
daily, I go to church on a weekly
basis, and I pray all the time,” then
consider that, quite possibly, you
have eliminated your need for Jesus
and become your own “savior”
through your self-righteousness.
But if you can honestly say, “I’m a
wretched sinner, I deserve hell
without Jesus, and I cry out to him
daily for help and grace,” then it
sounds like you understand that
Jesus is truly all that you have and
all that you need.
Keller states that if “like the
elder brother, you believe that God
ought to bless you and help you
because you have worked so hard
to obey him and have been a good
example, then Jesus may be your
helper, your example, even your
inspiration, but he is not your
Savior. You are serving your own
Savior.” Who are you relying on as
your savior today, Jesus or yourself?
A native of sunny South Florida,
Nicole Oliva joined forces with the
Good News over four and half
years ago and has served as
Editor-in-Chief for the past year
and a half. She has a heart for
reaching out to the next
generation and is passionate
about topics such as human
trafficking and teen issues. In her
free time, she enjoys running,
playing tennis and hanging with
friends and family. To contact
Nicole, please email her at:
nicoleo@goodnewsfl.org or follow
her on Twitter @nicolejoyoliva.
>
- Nicole Oliva -
Which Brother Are You?
EDITOR
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2
February 2013
Good News - Broward Edition