Two sons. Two ways of doing life.
Both were wrong. Both were lost. Both ways of living are dead ends.
Amazingly, both sons were loved. The father in the story went out to welcome the younger brother home AND the father went out to seek to bring the older brother in. God is not a Pharisee to the Pharisees.
Who needs to hear this good news of grace?
- Young brothers types! They need to know the father's heart and the grace that is available to them. Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship with a loving God.
- Older brother types! Tim Keller notes that Jesus attracted younger brother types but seemed to repel or offend older brother types. Churches today tend to attract older brother types but young brother types tends to stay away. Why the difference? Is the church preaching the same message as Jesus? Or is the church filled with more older brothers that we'd like to admit. A challenging thought!
A few final thoughts tomorrow …
Thanks Mark,
timely as usual… we have a ‘lost son’ staying with us this weekend and I needed that challenge to make me look at the older brother-ness that can creep into my heart.