Jesus gave a lot
of parables; thirty nine were recorded in the bible. Jesus’ parables had hidden
truth which must be unravelled. Remember, everything Jesus did have a link to
the kingdom of God and has an explanation about it. One of the parables with
deep truth is the parable of the prodigal son or the lost depending on the
translation used [ref. Luke 15:11-32]. Today, I’ll take a closer view at this
parable and dig out some things; although this might not be completely new to you
but it is important so as to renew your mind with the truth.
As the story
goes the Father had two sons, the Father here symbolises God the Father, a
reference to this could be seen in John 1:12-13 which says, “But as many as received Him, to them He
gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God.”NKJV. Other scriptures include: Romans 8:14, 1 John 3:1, Romans
8:16-17, Galatians 3:26-27, 1 John 3:9-10. The prodigal son represents some
Believers who go astray but not out of Christ; and think they can do things
without Christ; no one (Believers in particular) can do anything without Christ
[ref. John 15:5].
The prodigal son
left his Father thinking he could control things by himself but eventually lost
everything. He then thought he had fallen short, of which he did, but note
this; even with his unfortunate incidence, he was still referred to as a son,
he didn’t get another name. We must understand this because in a Believers
former life (the life before he met Jesus), sin was the master, but the moment
the Believer accepted Christ, there was a break away from the old life into a
new. In other words going by biological terminology, grafting took place. The
branch getting nourishment from the old tree was grafted into the new tree
which is Christ.
In the old life,
the nature of sin was what was given, but in the new life of Christ, eternal
life and the Holy Spirit have been given as a gift. Now, a gift is something given to a person which
wasn’t demanded for but is needed. This cannot be lost unless the Believer who
possesses the eternal life and the Holy Spirit decide to denounce Christ and
nothing else. This was the reason why the prodigal son still remained a son all
through the story. Some people think the Holy Spirit is taken away the moment
we sin, if this is so then it implies that the Holy Spirit wasn’t a gift and no
one would merit it because no one deserved it in the first place. So, if God takes
the Holy Spirit from us when we sin it implies it is by works that we attain
eternal life and no one will get it, because we all have fallen short.
When the
prodigal son eventually came back to his senses that nothing could be done
without his Father, he went back home. To show you how much the Father loved
his son; the moment he was sighted miles away the Father ran all the way to embrace
him; this is to show us that the love God has for us surpasses any love we
could ever give him.
The Father
didn’t have time to listen to his stories; he immediately dressed him up as the
son he knows. We must understand that it is our focus on Christ that really
saves us, nothing else. The Father had accepted him before he said anything;
this is how our God is, but many people think He is one fierce person that strikes
you dead ones a thing goes wrong. He is more merciful than we could ever
imagine, even if you go astray, His arms of love are ever stretched towards us.
This was what Jesus implied when He explained this parable with the parable of
the lost sheep. No matter what you do, the moment you turn to God He accepts
you, there is no need for appease Him because Jesus already did that. Just look
unto Jesus and all will be well with you. We are like children in need of
parental care, this is what God provides.
The brother on
the other hand represents Believers who think it is by their effort they get blessed
by God. The bible says we are joint heirs with Christ [ref. Romans 8:17], which
implies we’re entitled to all the benefits through grace in Christ Jesus. The
bible says, “For if Abraham was
justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.” Romans
4:2 NKJV. The Brother didn’t understand everything the Father owned
belonged to Him; it is not of works that we are saved [ref. Romans 4:14]. What
we just need to do is to believe in the Lord Jesus and we would live the
excellent life Christ has provided for us [ref. Matthew 6:33-34]. It’s all
because of the love Christ has for us and this is the gospel truth.
Why not accept
Jesus today if you haven’t. Pray out loud, “Jesus,
I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God
raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank
You for saving me!” Congratulations, you’re born again, you are now brand
new!
Log
on next time.
For
prayers and comment send them through my Google Plus account.
GOD BLESS YOU.
Unless
otherwise stated, the following scriptures are gotten from King James Version
(KJV)
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