A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.’ So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ And he said to him, ‘Son you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’

There is a Jewish tradition that the first character introduced in the story is the one the story is about, and so the father is actually the story’s primary focus. Here we have the father of two disobedient sons, and yet he loves them both, is generous to them both, and desires that both would be successful and prosperous leaders in his household.

We see that right from the start that the father divided his wealth between his sons. Whether or not it was appropriate for the younger son to ask for his inheritance, the father chose to readily give it to him. The father also chooses to give an inheritance to the older son–even though he neglected to receive it. And within all of this, there is no indication that there is a limit to the father’s resources.  He gives the younger son his inheritance, and yet, when the son turns back to his father in repentance, the father lavishes him all the more; it seems there is no limit to his generosity.

The father is also a good and generous master to his servants. His servants have “more than enough bread” and the indication is that he is so good to work for that the younger son would rather face his father under the worst conditions than continue working as a paid servant for another.

But the story reveals that the father is also generous with his love, joy and mercy.  In fact, he approaches both his sons.  He sees the younger son from a distance when he is still far off, which would indicate he has been waiting and hoping for that son to come home; and when he does come, the father runs over to embrace and kiss him. He doesn’t even wait until the son is back in the land–he goes out to find his son while the son is far off and heading in the right direction. He likewise goes out to meet his older son, and pleads for him to come in and join them in the celebration. The father’s character is to bring in his sons and celebrate with them. He is actively pursuing them both whether or not they realize it.

God is full of blessings for everyone–there are struggles too, but even within the struggles there are blessings. He wants everyone to join his party. And the party takes place in His Kingdom. There are festivities in other lands, but when they are done there is no lasting peace or excitement. The younger son was curious about the festivities in other lands, but they did not fulfill him. The prostitutes only excited him for a moment. The festivities could only continue until his money ran out. And before he knew it, he wasn’t having fun at all. God’s parties are not like this. They last forever and go from glory to glory–better and better each time. We have the anticipation of a huge event–a wedding, so to speak–where God will become married or united with humankind in a superb way; a collision of the spiritual and physical realms in a fulness not yet experienced. A time when evil will be driven from the earth and the earth itself will be transformed. This will be very exciting!

But there’s something cool happening right now as well. Even now, God’s Kingdom is available to everyone who wants to live with Him. He wants everyone to join in.

Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ And he said to him, ‘Son you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’  (Luke 15:25-32)

The older son’s problem is that he doesn’t realize what it means for him to be a son. He is out in the field working (like one of the hired servants), rather than being at the center of the action in his father’s house. As a result, he misses out on the best of his father’s celebrations, resources, and attention; in fact, he doesn’t seem to have much of a relationship with his father at all. Even some of the hired servants know more of what’s going on in his household than he does! He doesn’t know about the party until he approaches the house and hears the music because, although he lives under his father’s rooftop, he’s not spending his time in the household. Then, when he hears the music and dancing, he refuses to go into the party, despite the pleading of his father.

He is upset because he has been working so hard to earn his father’s attention, love, and generosity. And his feelings have grown into a jealousy of his brother, and have even caused him to be offended with his father. He thinks that because he has followed his father’s commands, his father owes him blessing. But his father responds from an entirely different perspective. He had already made his wealth available to both sons (Luke 15:12), and had considered the resources of his household to belong as much to his oldest son as it did to himself (Luke 15:31). The father wanted more than just obedience–he wanted a relationship with his son, to celebrate over his son’s successes, and to be a physical part of his son’s life.

It’s unfortunate that the elder son has wasted so much time striving to get his father’s attention and affection when he had it all along and could have been enjoying life with his father. It’s even more unfortunate that he is spending so much energy being critical and jealous of his brother that he can’t loosen up to enjoy a good party with his whole family. He seems to have a serious adversion to having fun–maybe because he feels he doesn’t deserve it, or because he sees there is so much work to do–whatever the case, he’s the one choosing not to engage. It’s too bad because his father is all about fun. This is a big party: a feast with music and dancing!

We can learn a lot from the older son:

• Are we, Christians, offended or caught up in our brothers (and sisters) business in a way that is preventing us from enjoying our own relationship with God our Father?
• Might we be so focused on doing things for God that we miss out on celebrating in His presence?
• Have we created so many rules for our faith that we are repulsed by any sort of celebrating–even if it’s God’s own party?
• Do we know how to have fun and party with God or would we rather busy ourselves with work in the field?
• Are we more often overwhelmed with offense, jealousy and skepticism or joy, love, and peace?
• Do we recognize that God is loving, forgiving, joyful and fun-loving, or do we feel He is angry, disapproving and solemn toward us?

God wants His children to be able to enjoy Him. That’s what this thing is about: He created humanity because He wanted a bigger family to love and enjoy. Even after we have rejected Him, He still desires us. That’s why God came as a man–as Jesus, His son, the physical representation of the invisible God. He came to reconcile the people of the world to Himself–to invite us to join His Kingdom as His sons and daughters the way He had intended all along. When He comes a second time, He will be taking His love a step further by reconciling the whole physical world to Himself as well. He has done so much for us! Let’s forgive our brothers, be reconciled to God and join the party!

A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.  (Luke 15:11-24)

The younger son asks for and receives a portion of his inheritance, and soon runs into problems. The problem, though, is not that he asked for his inheritance, but that soon after getting it he forsakes his father’s household and values for a distant land. Once in that land, he squanders his inheritance and neglects to be alert to the economy. In fact, it is after spending everything that a famine occurs in the land, but he had not had insight into the economic season and had acted irresponsibly with his possessions.

When the famine hits, the younger son comes into bondage to the land. Whereas before he may have been just a visitor spending money and enjoying life, he is now forced to work for the citizens of that country. Even worse, he has to tend to pigs, which by his (Jewish) tradition was unclean work. He felt that he had no choice but to be bound in service in this land and at this job–hungry and unfed. But there is always a choice.

He realizes that he can still return to his father’s house–as a slave. He goes home and apologizes to his father. But instead of taking him in as a slave, the father rejoices over his son and redresses him as a member of his household. The younger son is now honored in the position it seems his father wanted him in all along.

God is our Father and wants us to take an active part in His Kingdom. He wants to bless us with our inheritance (spiritually, physically, even materially), and sometimes He does. Other times He protects us by not giving us the things we want when He knows it would only be a stumbling block to the greater gifts of faith. When God does choose to bless us in physical and in material ways, it is important that we remain in His Kingdom so that we do not squander our wealth or faith. Only in the Kingdom do we have wisdom through the Holy Spirit from God as to how to best live now despite the unknowns of the future. It becomes very difficult and painful to leave the “distant lands” outside of God’s Kingdom once we engage in pleasure from them. And of course, there is deep benefit in learning to be the sons and daughters that God is inviting us to be. God loves us with a deep love, as a father, and wants us to partner with Him–not as mere slaves (regardless of our past sins)–rather, He wants to clothe us in royal garments and delights in letting us rule with Him, with full access to the resources of His Kingdom, our home!