Hello folks, how are you? Hope all is well. I’ll be writing fewer articles now, as I now plan to take my writing into the music arena. Yeah I want to learn to compose music and am planning to invest my free time in learning the basics of music so that I can pass the interview for the 4 month course in music composition and direction starting January 2011 from Mumbai University.
Today I shall be writing on what was preached to the Church; however I feel the need to adapt to readers new to Church doctrine. Let us together go through the Parable of the Prodigal son in Luke 15:11-24.
Luke 15:11-24
11 Jesus went on to say, “There was once a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the property now.’ So the man divided his property between his two sons. 13 After a few days the younger son sold his part of the property and left home with the money. He went to a country far away, where he wasted his money in reckless living. 14 He spent everything he had. Then a severe famine spread over that country, and he was left without a thing. 15 So he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him out to his farm to take care of the pigs. 16 He wished he could fill himself with the bean pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything to eat. 17 At last he came to his senses and said, ‘All my father’s hired workers have more than they can eat, and here I am about to starve! 18 I will get up and go to my father and say, Father, I have sinned against God and against you. 19 I am no longer fit to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired workers.’ 20 So he got up and started back to his father.
“He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled with pity, and he ran, threw his arms round his son, and kissed him. 21 ‘Father,’ the son said, ‘I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son.’ 22 But the father called his servants. ‘Hurry!’ he said. ‘Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. 23 Then go and get the prize calf and kill it, and let us celebrate with a feast! 24 For this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.’ And so the feasting began.
Note: Parables are stories that Jesus told the people to reveal heavenly truths through earthly events.
Consider this, those who trust in Jesus are those God calls his children because just as a father would call an orphan ‘son’ because of the close relationship the orphan may share with his own son. In the same way God the Father calls ‘spiritual orphans’ His sons when they come to trust in His Son Jesus.
Ephesians 1:5
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
Now may be you believe and trust in Jesus or may be you are on your way there or may be you don’t want to think of that right now but I’ll tell you this those who trust and believe in Jesus do so because God chose them before the foundation of the world, you can see this from the word ‘predestined’ in Ephesians 1:5 above.
So the Parable of the Prodigal Son has more to do with God’s predestined Children being reconciled to God. Now this shouldn’t be any news when I tell you that when the first man Adam was created, he lived in union with God and at that time the Bible refers to that union as that of a Father and son.
Luke 3:23-38
23 When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,
24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
……….
31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
……….
38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
Yes the above is the Genealogy of Jesus, it is important to note here that Biblically Jesus was God who was man in every respect, except where the nature of sin is concerned. ‘God who was man’…oxymoron…yeah I agree, but my God is All Powerful, he is not bound by the limits of human ideology. Monotheist may reject this because their god can go just as far as they can think. Let me give you some Biblical proof to show you the dual nature (God and Man) of Jesus Christ. You can see from Luke 3:31 that Jesus comes from the lineage of King David, from whom was prophesied that the Messiah would come. So let us now check a conversation Jesus had with the Jewish religious enlightening them on the dual nature of the Messiah.
Matthew 22:41-46
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.”
43 He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:
44 ‘ The LORD said to my Lord, ” Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ‘ ?
45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?”
46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.
Note: Christ in Matthew 22:42, means Messiah; that is He who saves/delivers people from their sins.
Now coming back to the topic of the prodigal son, you can clearly see from Luke 3:38, the relationship our great great great …grandfather Adam (1st man) had with God was that of that father and son. Adam and Eve then sinned against God & because of their disobedience there was a break in this Parent child relationship but at that time they were not reconciled because the sinless Son of God was yet to pay the price of sins for God’s people.
Romans 5:19 (Reference made to Adam and Jesus)
19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
So the story of the prodigal son can be seen as God’s people coming back (being reconciled) to God through the Salvation plan carried out in His Son. Luke 15:12-15, portrays a life a person before he comes to Jesus, before coming to Jesus he was purely living of the inheritance of God’s grace which saw him through all his reckless living but at a point he hits rock bottom because there is nothing that can replace the relationship he had with his Father.
Luke 15:17-24 reflects amazingly in Act 26:18.
Acts 26:18 (Jesus words to Apostle Paul about his mission to the people)
18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’
Eye opening – Luke 15:17
Transition from darkness to light – Luke 15:18-21
Reconciliation and enjoyment in being sanctified by faith in Jesus – Luke 15:22-24.
We see something very clearly in Luke 15:18-19 and this is an important part in the transition from the darkness of this world (1 John 5:19) to the light that is in Christ & that part is repentance, meaning seeing the error of your reckless living. Just as you need to admit you are wrong when you accept correction. In the same way all who come to Jesus are automatically made known of their follies, but what matters is that they all submit themselves to Jesus in repentance and they are then rewarded with Salvation (predestined for heaven).
1 John 5:19
19 …. whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
2 Corinthians 7:10
10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
If today you feel that you are living recklessly and still feel that the going is good, it does not mean and God is slow in taking action, you are purely living off your inheritance of His grace. A person’s life is like vapour (James 4:14) before God. A man may live for, let’s optimistically say 100 years, what is that compared to infinity? Like the life span of vapour before it vanishes into thin air.
James 4:14
14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
Remember, God is a good God and he does not even take pleasure in the punishment of wicked (Ezekiel 18:23, 32). Have you ever heard of the phrase living on borrowed time; yeah borrowed time is exactly what the wicked are living on, out of love God hopes to see even the wicked be saved through repentance and faith in His Son Jesus (John 3:16).
Ezekiel 18:23, 32
23 “Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord GOD, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?…..
32 “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord GOD. “Therefore, repent and live.”
John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
To conclude: if for any reason you feel like you are in the dumps, hoping to grab a bite of what the pigs eat then it should be just a matter of time before realization strikes you and then I hope this articles will helps you come home to Jesus. There is never such a thing as a person who is too bad to come to Jesus.
Luke 15:7 (Jesus’ words)
7 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Making known the Defeated Dragon 