Lost and Found, And Lost Again Part Two

Proverbs 4:23: Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is perhaps the most widely known throughout the Gospels. Also known as the Parable of the Lost Son it conveys a story rich in the forgiving grace of Jesus Christ and it is word-picture of salvation. Yet within the symbolism and rhetorical teaching points lies deeper truths to explore. Not only does Christ provide a picture of salvation but a warning to those who are already saved. In the first devotional we examined the life of the younger son who was lost but then found. The second devotional in this series will examine the life of the older son who was found his whole life, only to be lost in his own heart. The younger son is representative of an unsaved life before coming to Christ. The older son however is representative of a saved life, living in a state of error, lost in his own heart.

We left off toward the end of the parable. The younger son had come to his senses and returned home to his father, like we as sinners come back to God, our Father. And like God, the prodigal son's father greeted him with open arms and ordered that a feast be held to celebrate the joyous occasion of a life returned. Similarly, such rejoicing occurs in heaven when one soul returns to the Father:

In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15: 10

So the lost son was now found. A word picture for salvation, we return home to our Father who celebrates our repentance. But what of the other son? Often we stop here, with the picture of salvation having been painted and the son who was dead (Ephesians 2:1) now alive again. With a joyous celebration about to begin we often leave the parable here but there was another son and Jesus was not done with the teaching just yet:

"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' Luke 15: 28-30

If the lost son was representative of those in the world, then the son that stayed with the Father can be representative of those in the realm of believers. As sure as the younger son proved you can be lost in the world, the older son now proves you can be lost as a believer as well. Not lost as salvation goes, but lost nonetheless. Jesus gives four warnings for the hearts of believers through the condition of the older son. Four problems we can develop as believers if we do not guard our hearts.

First of all the older son had an anger problem. Shouldn't this son be joyful that his brother had returned? Shouldn't the salvation of his lost brother be a point of celebration? Instead the older brother became angry and petulant. Suddenly it was all about him. Too often we too can make the Christian walk be about ourselves and that is what the older son was doing here. The Bible warns us about anger:

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil. Psalm 37: 8

But the older brother reacted in anger at the news that his long lost brother had come home. Not concerned about his brother coming home alive, he made it about himself. His anger is borne out of selfishness. We too can become selfish in our walk and even in our service to God; in our ministry. His selfishness had calloused his heart so much that the salvation of his brother became a point of anger. We should pray as believers that we never get to such a point.

Secondly, the oldest son had a heart problem. The condition of his heart is revealed in his words. According to his words, he had been "slaving away" and somehow relates that to being obedient! It seems the oldest son thought his hard work should have been worth something. As Christians, we have our walk with God which is our relationship with Him and our service unto God which is our ministry. Unfortunately, we too often confuse these. The older son here feels that he is somehow deserving of something for his service; for his works. He is so busy feeling unappreciated for his works unto God that he never stopped to be appreciative of his relationship with God. A tragic mistake. It is the same mistake Martha made when Jesus was visiting her and Mary. Martha, who represents of our ministry, is busying herself with the work that was needed to be done while Mary, who represents our walk, is lying at the feet of Jesus hanging on every word the Master had to say. The Bible says then that Martha rebukes Jesus:

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Luke 10: 40

We too can become distracted by all of the preparations; the work that needs to be done for the kingdom and we too can neglect the relationship God wants to have with us. Martha forgot and so did the older son in this parable. He had access to the Father for all of those years his brother was away but it appears he did not appreciate it. Instead of working on behalf of the Father as a grateful son, he considered it "slaving away." His heart was unguarded. Let us be mindful in our walks that while our service is very important to the kingdom, it is our time with God that He values above all, as Jesus reminded Martha:

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10: 41-42

Thirdly, the oldest son had a value system problem. When he says, "yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends" he is valuing the temporal benefits of this world over the eternal benefits of his relationship with God. The older son stayed home and had a relationship with the Father. He never wanted for anything. He already had everything, yet he valued the wrong things. The Bible teaches us:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6: 19-21

He stored up treasures on earth instead of in heaven. The things that should have mattered did not and those that should not have mattered; mattered greatly to him. The result is that his heart was far from his father, despite being with him all these years. How sad it is that as believers we too can serve God but not know Him. That we can prosper in ministry but have no relationship with Him. That we can start to value the things of this world over the eternal gifts He has already given us! Let it not be so beloved!

Lastly, the older son had a judgmental problem. He speaks ill about his own brother's actions in the world and does so with disdain. As Christians, we must resist this urge as well to be judgmental about others in the world whether they come back to God or not. It seems sometimes that we can forget how far down God had to go to reach us. Too often we can become quick to judge and forget about mercy. It is always easier to see the sins of others and use that to make ourselves feel better about our own sin. Clearly, this older brother was not perfect. It seems this is exactly what Christ taught against on the Sermon on the Mount:

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Matthew 7:3-5

Jesus is teaching about the hypocrisy of judging others by holding them to a standard that you do not hold yourself to. Now, it is true that the older brother did not squander his Father's land or material possessions on prostitutes but he did squander his relationship with his Father for the same amount of years. The younger son was careless in how he treated what his Father had given him but the older son was careless in who his Father was to him. Let us never allow our hearts to become so calloused. Let us never become so lost.

Certainly the younger son was lost but was found. A glorious picture of salvation awaiting anyone who simply will turn back toward the Father; who is waiting with open arms. But in the end, it is the older son that was truly lost. The teaching from Jesus continues to reveal not only the dangers of the world, but the heart motivations of those who are already saved. Too often as Christians, we too can fall into the traps of the older son. We too can become angry or confuse our service unto God and our relationship with Him. We too can value the things of this world over the eternal treasures we already possess or find ourselves judging others. These are the pitfalls Jesus is warning us about in this parable.

Remember, the older son already had it all. He already had the relationship with the Father and so do we as believers. We need to guard our hearts against anger and bitterness. We need to never confuse our service with our relationship with God. We need to treasure that relationship above all else; truly valuing our eternal perspective. Lastly, we need to never forget how far God had to go to save us preventing any judgmental attitude from interfering with our spirit.

A picture of salvation for the lost and a warning to the saved about becoming lost all within one parable. All taught by the Master.

Hallelujah!

Reverend Anthony Wade February 26, 2009