August 3, 2022 The Prodigal's Brother

Transcript from Joni & Friends' July 21, 2020 Radio Program "The Prodigal's Brother"

Listen to Radio Program Here

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a lesson about the prodigal son.

Well, not really. Today, I’m thinking about the brother of the prodigal son.  You know, you always hear so much about the prodigal, that young man who squandered it all, but there are insights to glean from his older brother. Because when you read this parable, you tend to get the idea that hardship never seemed to touch the life of the older brother. After that prodigal headed for “Hollywood” and the so-called good life, when he decided to squander his inheritance, the older son kept faithfully managing the father’s farm, paying the bills; kept his nose clean; never suffered the consequences of disobedience. And while the older brother is walking the straight and narrow and being responsible with his father’s estate, his little brother is using up all the money. After drugs, prostitution, he’s got nothing left. He’s out on his own, hungry, and sitting among the pigs. And as you know, that’s when he decides to go home. And when he does arrive, his father goes crazy with excitement. Steaks on the barbecue. Uncork the wine. Bake a big cake; scatter confetti; string the tent posts with crêpe paper and drape “Welcome home” signs over everywhere. Meanwhile, the older brother stands there, looking on, and he feels more than a little stymied. It wasn’t the cost of confetti and the fatted calves that irked him; it was this gushing favor that his daddy showered on his younger sibling. The kid who snubbed his father and made him look bad. The one who was the black sheep of the family.

But just when the older brother thought he was missing out, he heard these words of tender reassurance from his father, and they are recorded in Luke 15:31, where the father says, “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” Let those words sink in. You see, we focus on what we don’t have, rather than what we do. Because when you read the parable, you see that the prodigal son only had a portion of the inheritance. The older son, according to Luke 15:31, possessed everything. He simply forgot it. He forgot that everything the father had was his.

And this is such a critical lesson for followers of Jesus whose testimonies are pretty clean and straight-forward. Because Christians who do not wrestle with larger-than-life temptations still have to grasp the depth of their depravity. It’s also a critical lesson for those whose lives have not been touched or scarred by deep suffering. Those who do not regularly taste pain and hardship must live more circumspectly, more carefully. Pain and hardship usually make us feel our desperate need of God; and so does an awareness of sin in our lives. But without suffering and hardship, one could become like the prodigal’s older brother who, in his trouble-free circumstances, simply forgot how much he had. But God says in Ephesians 1:3, that he, our Father in heaven, has blessed every believer “…in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” God has nothing more beyond Christ to give those who suffer or those who do not.

So today, friend, hear the Father say to you that you possess everything. And appreciate that! And do not begrudge others who come to Christ by the skin of their teeth, sliding in under the wire at the last minute. Yeah, they have an inheritance, but so do you – and it may well be richer and fuller than anything you can imagine. Those are good words today for you from Luke 15 and from Joni and Friends, where we love sharing hope in every hardship. God bless you today and thanks for listening to Joni and Friends!

Reflection:

Joni said that we often focus on what we don't have, rather than what we have.  Focus is a powerful way of summoning our energy.  Can you recall a time when you focused on what you have rather than what you don't have and experienced a better-than-expected outcome?

Why do you think Joni warned those who do not regularly taste pain and hardship to live more carefully?

Ephesians 1:3 says every believer is blessed lavishly by God of the universe through Jesus Christ, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."  Which of the following spiritual blessings are you most grateful for?

(a) We are holy and blameless in his sight (Ephesians 1:4)

(b) We are adopted as God's children through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:5)

(c) He freely gives us grace in the One he loves (Ephesians 1:6)

(d) The forgiveness of sin according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7)

(e) Wisdom and understanding of his will and purpose (Ephesians 1:8, 9)

Conclusion:

Let us live life carefully regardless of whether we regularly face larger-than-life temptations or hardships, or if we live a trouble-free life.  Be aware of our great need for God and his spiritual blessings in his Son Jesus Christ.