As we represent our Savior and his gospel in the world, our hearts must be in the right place. A healthy view of our own need of grace leads us to be humble and grateful for his mercy, eager to see others embrace the good news, and to rejoice with the angels in heaven when sinners come to Christ in repentance and faith. But if we presume a place of privilege, or view the blessings of salvation as entitlements, then we have lost sight of the grace extended to us and are quick to judge others as unworthy. Jesus knew the Pharisees were blinded by just this kind of unloving self-righteousness and offered a set of three parables to expose the hardness of their hearts (Luke 15:1-32).
The parables have a number of things in common: each includes something that is lost, each reveals that the lost item has great value for the one seeking it, each includes a celebration in response to the lost item being recovered. But it’s the last of the parables, the one known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son, that most directly addresses the Pharisees’ ungraciousness. In the story, the “older brother” is the placeholder for the Pharisees. His refusal to celebrate at the return of his wastrel younger brother parallels the Pharisees lack of appreciation for what was transpiring in the ministry of Jesus. He received and ate with “tax collectors and sinners” because that is what you do when something precious that was lost is found. Like the repentant younger brother, they were being restored to the family, and Jesus rejoiced.
Let me suggest that the younger brother was not the only prodigal in the family. He may have gone off and wasted his inheritance, but the older brother wasted the opportunity afforded him by staying home and close to his father. Though he spent each day with him, he was not shaped by him. Wasn’t this the Pharisees’ problem? They were diligent to study and obey the law and prophets and yet did not know the God revealed in them. If they had, they too would be celebrating. As it was, their reluctance only demonstrated their scrupulosity was nothing but grudging obedience.
We don’t want to follow the example of either of the prodigals in this parable (unless it is to repent like the younger of the two). To hedonistically squander our possessions is to be a poor steward of God's grace. But neither do we want to squander the access afforded us to the throne of grace by not being formed more and more into the image of the One through whom grace has come. Our union with Christ can give us eyes to see the mercy of God on display when even the most debauched of people humble themselves before the living God. That is not something to protest, but to celebrate.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
