I am going to take a break from the series I have been working on for a moment to write about something that is very close to my heart. I am not a perfect man and over the years, especially when I was very young, I had issues and did some things that I desperately needed the grace of God to forgive. Even though I have sinned, one thing I never really was was a prodigal. In fact, I always hated reading the story of the prodigal son and would cringe anytime a preacher would have us turn to Luke 15, because I knew what was coming. I know that this current generation is very enamored with this story because they feel that they were lost and are now found; but, there are still a lot of people, who like me, never really strayed from the Lord. People like me can not identify with the prodigal son story the way it is usually taught. Where as, I do understand the need for the story and the beauty of the love and restoration grace of the Father God; I do not however, really identify with the character of the prodigal son. I am, however, a father; but, I have yet to, and don't believe I ever will, face one of my children turning their backs on me and walking away. Since, my children both love and respect me I also do not identify with the forgiving father either. Yes, I do understand that the father represents God; but, there are a lot of people out there that have gone through this type of scenario as a father ,and this scripture does apply to them in that capacity as well. Now, I am not going to talk about the forgiving heart of the father in this post, nor am I going to talk about how we are all prodigal sons who are returning home to a God who loves us; so, if this is what you want to hear then you might want to skip over this post. If, however, you want to understand the other character in this story then keep reading; because, I am sure you will see things about yourself and God that you never really saw before.
First off, the opening line of this parable goes like this, "A certain man had two sons. (NKJV)." Well now, I thought the parable of the prodigal son was just about two people, the prodigal and the father. Don't feel bad if you missed the fact that there are actually three main characters in this story; because, most preachers have always told the story from just the perspective of two of the characters, and have relegated the third to simply supporting character status. In fact, the heading in almost all bibles for this parable is "The Parable of the Prodigal Son." Of course, if the Academy Awards have shown us anything, supporting characters are just as important to the story as the main characters, this is why they have their own awards category. I, on the other hand, believe that the older brother in the story is just as important a character as the prodigal is. As a story teller, I know that God would not have made it a point to declare in the opening line of the story that there were two sons, if both were not of equal importance. God is not someone who wastes time, and if the older brother was not important, He would have simply said, "A certain man had a son." The story would have had the same effect if there was just one son instead of two; but, he made it a point to give the man two sons, and this shows us that both sons are of equal importance to the story.
Now, before I go any farther I want to cover one point briefly that is of the utmost importance for us; and that is, that there are no supporting characters in the story of life as far as God is concerned. What? Are you saying that everyone has the same value in life as everyone else no mater what role they have to play? Why yes I am. This is one of the most devastating traps the enemy uses to, not only keep us back from the fullness of the destiny God has for us, but also to keep us in a state of depression, hopelessness and insecurity. You see God loves us all equally no mater our role in the kingdom and in life. If we were to measure most of the heroes of faith by todays standards, then we would not consider any of them heroes of faith. Paul, for one, was never the senior pastor of a church and had no real earthly success as we would see it today. In fact, he had to make tents in order for him to not starve. Likewise, once when he was preaching someone fell asleep and fell out of a window because he was so boring. Now, Paul did raise him from the dead; but, it was often said of him that his letters were so good, but he in person was lacking. In other words, people found Paul unimpressive and lacking charisma in person. In todays world, Paul would not be a superstar because he did not have the charisma we tend to look for in out great leaders; and yet, he wrote one third of the new testament and is responsible for most of the doctrine we preach today. So, if Paul compared himself to the other apostles, then he would have saw himself as someone who was less then the others and he would not have stepped into the fullness of what God had for him. This was one of the things that the older brother in the Prodigal Son story also wrestles with. When his brother returns and his father goes all out to receive him, he compares himself to his brother and becomes insecure. He mistakenly assumes that all of the attention his brother is receiving shows that he is of less importance, or loved less, then his brother. In fact, I would wager that his brother was always the daring and fun one while he was the consistent one. In life, since the beginning of man, people have always been drawn to the charismatic; and sometimes, people who are consistent and faithful can seem to be over looked. What God showed me about the older brother was that he most certainly had been wrestling with this for most of his life; and the return of his brother, brought all of those feelings back to the fore front. He was unable to see his own worth because he was comparing the response he received from people with the response his brother received. He, however, is not his brother; and, the response that he receives from people will be different. This, however, does not mean that it is somehow less then the response his brother receives. In fact, God goes on to talk about the rewards that the older brother has for his faithfulness.
Now, how do I know that his brother was faithful; well, because in the scripture it says, "Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing." This denotes that his son was faithfully working and keeping his fathers house. While the younger brother was off wasting his inheritance, the older brother had stayed faithful and consistent to his father. No offence, but I would rather be the brother who stayed faithful then the one who left and came back. I don't ever want to be someone who squanders the love and grace of my Father God in worldly living. If this is who you have been, that is fine because God loves you and, after you have repented, He will accept you back s if you never left. But, being faithful is always better then being unfaithful; this is why, he says in I Samuel 15:22 "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams." Now, the problem that the older brother has is not in the fact that he was faithful; but rather, in his response to the return of his younger brother. You see, it is good that the father and the people excepted the younger brother back, and it was cause for celebration; but, the older brother could not see that because he was too focused on how it effected him. He was on the verge of missing out on the joy of restoration because he was being selfish. What? Wasn't he better then his brother because he was faithful? My personal gut response is, yes he is; but, in truth, no he is not. Both are equally as loved by their father; and the older brothers own anger was preventing him from seeing that his father loved him just as much as he loved his younger brother. Wow! you see what I did there I turned the story on its head. You see the problem the older brother had was not that he did not see the love his father had for his brother; but rather, he felt like his father somehow loved him less than his younger brother. How do we know this is the older brothers heart? We know this by his response which is,
"But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 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. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
This statement is not about his brother; but rather, it is about how he feels about his fathers love for him. He really believes that his father loves his brother more then him. This sad fact is not only keeping him bound; but it is also, keeping him from having a relationship with his brother. Now, I do not believe that the older brother is trying to earn his fathers love by his works; but rather is simply comparing himself to his brother. This is why the bible says it is unwise for us to compare ourselves one to another, because just because the responses we receive may seem different because we are all different, does not mean that they are in anyway less. This is exactly what the older brother was dealing with and what God wants us all to see here. Just because he killed the fatted calf for the younger brother does not mean that he loved the older brother less. In fact, you see, not only how much the father loves the older brother, but also the rewards he has for the older brother in the fathers response when he says,
31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 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.’”
In this one statement he lets the older son know just how much he loves him and just what his reward is. First off, he states that the older son will always be with him. This denotes a special level of relationship that he gets to have with the father because he stayed faithful. Now, this does not mean that the prodigal does not get to have a deep relationship with the father; but, the more faithful you are to the father the greater level of trust and closeness you will be able to have; and at this time, the older brother has been walking in and will continue to grow deeper in that relationship. This is a direct statement of affirmation the father gives to the older brother. Secondly, the father states that everything he has is his. This again displays the principle that the more faithful and consistent you are in relationship with God the more you have access to the presence of God and his anointing. The older brother had access to everything the father had without any constraints being put upon him; whereas, the younger brother no longer did. That does not in any way mean that in time the younger brother would not be able to win back the trust of his father; but rather, that the one who had stayed faithful had always had it. Again this is another statement of affirmation for the older brother who was struggling with insecurity in his own standing with his father, because he was comparing himself to the response his father had given to his younger brother. Lastly, his father reminds him of the fact that he is missing out on the restoration of his younger brother because he is consumed with his own feelings of insecurity. After all, his brother who was lost had just returned and he was completely missing that fact. I believe after this encounter with his father the older brothers heart changes and he is able to see; not only that his brother has returned, but how much his father loves him. You see, if you are not secure in how much your father loves you then you will never truly be able to love your brother. I believe that the point of this story was not just the restoration of one brother; but the restoration of two brothers. This is why Jesus makes it a point to say that the father had two son. It is the story of how two sons were restored to their father in two different ways. one through returning from his sin; and the other, by realizing that his father loved him just as much as he loved his brother irrespective of the differences of them both. If you are the older brother and not the younger in this story, know that God loves you just as much as he loves the prodigal. Don't let the enemy steal your joy and your relationship with God and your brothers and sisters, because he has you focused on what you feel others are getting, instead of what God has already given you. Just like the older brother in this story, you will always be with God and all that He has is yours; and nothing in this world can ever change that, so don't let the enemy, or your own false perceptions, ever let you feel less then what you are, a child of the living God!
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