The Prodigal's ReturnSample

Hurt

Bailey Hartman

[Luke 15:25-32 NASB] “All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day’s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef—because he has him home safe and sound.’ The older brother stomped off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’ “His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’”

There is a special kind of hurt that comes from loving an addict or someone who is consumed in sin. It leads to disappointment and a lot of anger; at least it did for me. For years, I watched my family give time and money to the ones that had messed up over and over again. I often felt that the addicts were given attention, and I always fell into the background. Jealousy and envy clouded my vision. The hurt and anger were damaging me, and I was also too focused on them to be aware of myself. To be clear, this was my own doing. We choose what we allow to change us.

I had an epiphany one day when I heard a Sunday school lesson about the prodigal son’s brother. The prodigal leaves and takes his inheritance, but the son who stays behind feels hurt and angry when the father celebrates the prodigal’s return. The brother who stayed behind did not ask for his inheritance early, he did not leave his father, he stayed, and he worked. He deserves a party, right? As you can read in the scripture, he did not get a party. As far as we know, he did not even get a “good job” or a “thank you”.

Every day as Christians, it is possible and even likely that we will feel like the “good guys” who get nothing while the people who live in the world are rewarded for bad behavior. So why does this happen? Why did the prodigal get a party when the brother who stayed seemingly got nothing?

“…this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found”

When we make life about us and not about God, we lose sight of His purpose and will for our lives. None of us are worthy or righteous without Him, and none of us are different when it comes to sin. God’s word reminds us that we will face opposition and that our rewards are not found here on Earth. My focus, like the prodigal’s brother’s, was on self. We should be shouting when prodigals return home.

God, help us see others through your eyes. Help us to focus on Your kingdom’s purposes and not our own. Help us to remove hurt by forgiving others around us. May we rejoice when prodigals run home. May we run to them, too, and remind them of who You are to us. Let us forget our SELF and remember YOU! Amen.