Parable of the Lost son

This week I have been meditating on the passage from Luke 15:11-31. The passage of often called the "Parable of the lost son". And it's true that most of the time we focus on the younger son, whom the father describes as, "For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’

But there are other characters in the same script that hold as much persuasion as the derailed younger son. 

They are:

1. The imbecile  pharisees who were listening and murmuring.
2. The tax collectors and sinners who gathered around Jesus.
3. Jesus the story teller
4. The father
5. The younger son
6. The elder son
7. The servants who obeyed the master's command

While most of our concentration seems to be on the wayward younger son, there is much to be learned from the other characters as well. Everyone has a story to tell, and many lessons to be learnt. (Probably you can take it further)

My meditations drew me to the older brother and I realized that many times we can fit into his shoes. He worked for his father in the field. He was a loyal and dutiful son. While the younger squandered the fathers inheritance, the older remained faithful. In fact he obeyed all his father's orders. Who would not want a son like this? 

But unfortunately, in spite of all the legalism, there were some elements of the 'life in the spirit" he failed to realize or he did not possess. Some might see my assessment as a conflict with reformed theology, but please read with an open mind.

1.   He was the genuine son of the father, but he failed to realize his birthright as a son.

He did not know the extend of his authority, his rights, his entitlement and the power that came along  within the radius of sonship. What a tragedy. The father had to remind him that ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours."

Isn't it the position of many believers today. We may be active in church, serving the Lord in the many areas, like this older brother. But we never realized the scope of our spiritual authority.  Maybe we are ignorant of the privileges of being a child of God. Because of the lack of understanding of this important truth, we serve as slaves and not from the position of one who is in authority. We must be careful to draw this distinction: Serving under authority and serving with authority. If we understand the extend of this diversity, serving God will be a joy and not a chore. In a nutshell:

1. Know your spiritual authority
2. Know the reason for serving (obeying the law or living the life of the spirit)
3. Know who you are serving
4. Know who to serve
5. Know the joy of serving