Welcome to our ongoing series, I DARE YOU. This is our look at the unique parables of Jesus Christ from the four Gospels found in the New Testament. Once a week, we will examine one of Christ’s stories and let his challenge to his first century audience speak to us now and provoke us to live in the Kingdom of God better, more fully, more whole heartedly. We see these parables as dares to step outside of the norm of the world and enter into what God has for us. We hope that you will be likewise challenged and that you will take the dare to live a more Christlike, Kingdom of God focused life.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son may be one of the most well known of Jesus’ parables. The story of how a young man asked for his share of his still living father’s inheritance and then squandered it is a story that most Christians could require from heart.
Rather than go over this well trod parable, and in particular the prodigal son (this time, we might come back to this parable), we’ll look at the elder son. The one who stayed home is just as important to the story as the one that left, and his actions and dialogue can teach us many things.
It is the actions of the elder son that I want us to look at, and see how Jesus is challenging us, daring us to realize what we have or have access to as children of God.
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” – Luke 15:25-32
I always felt bad for the elder son as a kid. I am the oldest of 5 boys in my family, and it seemed like the oldest was given the shaft, the short end of the stick, the bad deal in this story. As a child, I didn’t understand what Jesus was doing with the parable, making a point about religious leaders and their annoyance at God’s radical grace.
But at the same time, thereis something profound about what the elder son says. Although, rather than profound in a good way, it is bad. He profoundly misses something that his father says right at the end of the parable.
It is the statement the father makes that holds the dare that Jesus is making.
(Again, there is more to this parable. But I am focusing on one aspect this time around.)
“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and EVERYTHING I HAVE IS YOURS.’”
What an interesting statement by the father. In an effort to comfort and inform the elder son, the father drops some powerful truth at the feet of the audience. Everything that the father had was the son’s.
This is the case because the father had split what he had into two so that the younger son could have his inheritance before his father’s death. The father obliged this irreverent request, dividing every earthly possession into two. The younger son took his half and left, and the rest of the prodigal son’s story we know. But this mean that the father left everything else to the elder son.
And somehow the elder son didn’t know that. Somehow he didn’t understand what he had at his fingertips, the riches, the resources, the blessings that were his by right.
He had no idea what he had access to.
Because of that, he lived in self imposed poverty. He lived a life shy of what he could have lived because he did not access what the father had given him.
So when the father gave to the younger son, the elder son became upset. Thinking that he had nothing of his own and the younger son was getting more, he was outraged and didn’t go inside for the celebrations.
This is where the challenge lies. This is where I hear Jesus daring us, those that have been faithful Christians for years.
This is what I hear Jesus saying.
“I dare you to take hold of what is already yours.”
The elder son was already entitled to everything the father owned. They were his because the father divided everything that he had, and gave half to the younger son. What the elder son didn’t realize was that he could have them. He could have a goat. He could have a fatten calf. They were within his grasp, if only he would have asked.
He could have enjoyed the blessings and riches of his father if he asked.
Think about that for a moment.
This is not a “name it and claim it” message. I am not preaching any kind of prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel is a gross misreading of Scripture and I’ve talked about that before. But this idea that the father, our Heavenly Father has blessings waiting for us is consistent with Scripture.
Consider what James wrote in his epistle.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, YOU SHOULD ASK GOD, who gives generously to all without finding fault, AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU.” – James 1:5 , emphasis added
All we need to do is ask. Wisdom is there. Our Heavenly Father has plenty, and as his children, we have acesss to it. If we would ask Him for it.
We could enjoy the riches and blessings that do come with being wiser. Look at Solomon, the king who famously asked for wisdom, above all other things. But this idea is not just limited to wisdom. The riches that God has in store and ready for his beloved children are vast, more than just wisdom. Here are a few.
Food for yourself and to give others
“As it is written:
“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever.”Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” – 2 Corinthians 9:9-11
Strength
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. – Isaiah 40:29-31
Bravery
When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me. – Psalm 138:3
The Holy Spirit, or HIMSELF
“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”– Luke 11:13
Throughout Scripture, God tells us that he has good things for us. Things to bless us with, to strengthen and equip us with; if we would ask. If we would realize that we have access to them already, rather than thinking the God is holding out on us or that such blessings are not for us.
The faithful, though mislead, elder son had blessings and good things in abundance, even though he didn’t realize it.
Jesus dares us to grab hold of the good things that God has given to us, like wisdom, food, bravery, strength, and even his Spirit.
May you be so bold as to access, grab hold of the good things God has ready to give you. I dare you.
All Scripture references provided by Biblegateway.com Be sure to check them out if you are looking for a verse, some commentaries to help you understand a passage, or a devotional to keep you in the Written Word every day. Or for those on the go, check out their app, available at the App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Fire. Photo credit: Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1669
This blog first appeared on Christian Thought Sandbox.
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