Jump Start # 3757
Luke 15:29 “But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends.”
Our verse today are the tense and critical words of the elder brother in the story of the prodigal. The elder brother is a mirror of the Pharisees who at the front of Luke 15 are complaining because Jesus is eating with sinners. They would never do that. They were too good for that. Imagine being at the same table with a sinner. Unheard of, is what they concluded.
As the sorrowful prodigal makes his way home, to his surprise, he is welcomed with open arms. A celebration is called for. He was hoping to be a servant, but instead, he is treated as a son. As the older brother approaches the house, he hears music, joy and a party. Rather than rushing in to see for himself, he asks a servant who tells him of the good news that the wayward has returned. Instead of saying, “Good to have you back, brother,” the older brother fumes with anger. He refuses to have anything to do with the prodigal. The father has to leave the celebration to go out and beg the older son to join them. And, this is where our verse unfolds. It seems that for a long time the older brother was holding resentment in his heart. And, like an ole’ tea kettle whistling on a stove, he now explodes. And, in his words he reveals how he views his relationship with his father. It’s not healthy. It’s not a good relationship.
This was the problem of the Pharisees. Their relationship with God was not healthy. It was not good. And, that may well be our problem as well. Let’s take a look at this:
First, the older brother saw his role as a servant. “For so many years I have been serving you.” The prodigal came home hoping to be a servant and that’s exactly how the older brother saw himself. One doesn’t see that he felt that this has been an honor to work beside His father all these years.
There was a decade in my life when I lived away from my family in Indiana. Busy in Kansas City, raising our kids, it wasn’t easy to get back to see everyone. We missed holidays and many get togethers. What a joy it would have been to have been around my dad all those years.
The older brother saw his relationship in terms of duty, work and responsibility. What he missed was being around a kind, generous and forgiving father. And, we can miss the same thing. Attendance. Doctrine. Duties. Responsibilities. Service. And, what we fail to embrace, enjoy and see is the wonderful relationship we have with a Father that blesses us and loves us so much. Have to read the Bible. Have to get to the church building. Another class to teach. Another sermon to preach. What blessings surround us. So many barely know God and we get to enjoy this rich relationship every moment of every day. We are more than servants, we are the children of God. His children. What a blessing that is.
Second, the older brother viewed his relationship in terms of obedience. He said, “I have never neglected a command of yours.” I did everything you wanted done. Obedience. Law biding. Perfection. Obedience is necessary. It is what God wants. It is core of discipleship. But when the attention is on the law more than it is on God, it is easy to replace one for the other. It is easy to be more concerned about the rules than it is God, who made the rules. This is just a step away from legalism. We can be so bitter towards others because they messed up, that grace, love, mercy and forgiveness cannot be found in our hearts. Could this be a reason why some fear coming back? It’s not the Lord, but it’s us. It’s hard to come home to a bunch that carries the spirit of the older brother. So he never neglected a command. The prodigal couldn’t say that. Does that mean the father loved the older brother more and better than he did the younger son? God is not like that. Are we?
Third, the older brother felt that he had been cheated and neglected. His words are, “you never gave me a goat that I might celebrate with my friends.” What a degrading and insulting contrasts he makes. The prodigal gets the fatted calf. The older brother doesn’t even get a goat. I work and work and I get nothing. He felt unappreciated. He felt neglected. I tend to doubt that he had any friends to celebrate with. A selfish and sour attitude like he had wouldn’t attract many friends.
The kind words of the father towards the older brother shows how the father saw their relationship. He didn’t see it the same as the son saw it. The father loved the older son. Everything he had was the older brothers’. Open, sharing, generous, that’s how the father saw the relationship.
I wonder if we struggle with this ourselves. How God sees us is not the same as how we see God. We view our relationship in terms of duty, service and work. God sees us as His children. Loved. Appreciated. Invited.
And, when those around us stumble in and out of faith and make mistakes and sins, we are quick to be harsh and demanding of them. Maybe, just maybe, the issue isn’t them, but us.
A good long look at how we view our relationship with God will open our eyes to many things. It may reveal some changes we need to make in our hearts. God is good. Is that reflected in how we see Him?
Roger