6 Words That Will Change Your LifeSample

Jesus’ parable of the patient, loving Father and the two sons, the Prodigal son and his older brother, who thought they had life figured out on their own terms shows us a lot about God and a lot about ourselves.  

Like the two brothers, we humans tend to approach life in one of these two ways: 

• We pursue the self-absorbed, indulgent life which is all about me— the effect on others or consequences for self be damned;  

or 

• We pursue the moral life, often on our own terms, through our own strength, for our own purposes, trying to “earn” our way into God’s good graces. Which is also, at its root, all about me being good enough—except that we’re sinning without looking like it on the outside.  

In this story, it’s the younger brother who is the first to figure out that he’s “lost.” That’s why he heads for home. Sadly, it’s actually the older brother who may be the most “lost,” as his pride and self-righteousness keep him from recognizing his need. He’s blind to the reality that instead of compassion, he carries only resentment. Instead of being grace-giving, he is busy judging and comparing. He can’t see that he’s been doing the right things for the wrong reasons—out of duty to his father, instead of out of love for him. 

You see, God wants a totally different kind of life for us than either of these two brothers represent. He wants a RELATIONSHIP! Not a cordial, friendly, transactional relationship with us, but an intimate, authentic, love relationship that draws us together with Him at the deepest level of our very souls.  

Whether we’ve lived the life of the younger brother or the older one, our loving, forgiving Heavenly Father runs with arms outstretched, inviting us into that kind of radical, life-changing relationship. All is forgiven, if only we will run into His outstretched arms and join His party! 

It’s only when we begin to understand that both our blatant sins and our moral strivings to make God like us are obstacles to a true, deep, trust-filled, loving, soul-quenching relationship with God. When we truly get that, then we’re truly starting to grasp how incredibly radical the message of the gospel is.  

God wants us to love and serve Him not out of duty, but out of a genuine and overflowing gratitude for who He is to us. He wants our love, not only because of what He’s done for us, but for who He is.  

That’s what moves us from God as “boss,” to God as “Father.” 

Spend some time reflecting on the following questions: 

• What makes this parable so totally scandalous? 
• Do you view God as “boss” or as “Father”? 
• Are you consistently running toward God’s outstretched, welcoming embrace?