Called to Return

March 17, 2019 Background Scripture: Luke 15 Lesson Passage: Luke 15:11 – 24 Luke 15 is perhaps the most evangelistically focused passage of scripture in the Bible. I recognize and appreciate that we lean on the Great Commission in the Gospel of Matthew as the evangelistic mandate. However, Chapter 15 of the Gospel of Luke helps to put faces and names on the work of evangelism. Either we have been in one of the situations depicted in the chapter or we know others who have or both. That’s where the faces and names come from. Not only do Jesus’ actions suggest a how-to approach to evangelism but we also witness the negative reactions that can and do occur from others who are not so much mission minded. All of this must be considered. The whole chapter presents Jesus teaching on how things become lost and the best approach to recovery of them. If we can visualize how this occurs with things, then it is a rather simple step to substitute people in the place of things. That is one of the beautiful things about the parables Jesus used for teaching. He placed a story that would have been familiar and easy to understand to his listeners alongside a story that was a new thought or concept for them. To understand the first story, is to appreciate and learn from the second one. In our lesson passage, Jesus presents the story of the wasteful, or prodigal, son as a parallel to the story he told of a wandering sheep. Like the wandering sheep, the younger son of the father thought that there were better opportunities to be found elsewhere than what he was currently experiencing. The younger son did not appreciate what he had at home with his father. Simply put, sometimes we become restless for things or situations we know nothing about and we don’t take time to consider the current situation, which may have become too familiar for us. The younger son wanted to experience life while still in his youth, but he wanted it to be on his terms and away from the watchful eye of his father. He did not appreciate the provisions his father had made for his present and future benefit. In an act of disrespect, he requested his inheritance while his father was yet alive. His father granted him what he requested and allowed him to wander off on his own. Without the wisdom of stewardship that he could have learned from his father, he wasted everything and became impoverished. While being in a degrading situation in a hog pen, his thinking became clearer. Now, he could properly evaluate what his father had truly provided for him—and even the hired servants of his father. His father’s servants were living a life much more rewarding than his current situation. He understood that not only had he made an unwise decision, he had also offended his father in doing so. His first sign of maturity showed up in this situation. He decided to go back home and apologize to his father. If his apology was accepted by his father, he would then request a job as one of his father’s hired servant. As he neared home, his father recognized him and ran and embraced him. The father then requested all of his servants to take care of his son and to prepare a “welcome home” party for him. The joy the father experienced at the return of his son was much greater than the son’s error. God calls all of His wayward children to return home. Just as the father in the parable, He eagerly awaits us. Robert C. Hudson February 14, 2019