"For this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found." –Luke 15:32
A few days ago I posted on Snapchat about three main areas that encompassed Jesus' ministry. These were teaching, community, and forgiveness. For all those who call themselves disciples it is vital we learn these three areas. I shared briefly my thoughts on teaching and community in my Snapchat, and thought it best to spend a bit more time on this idea of forgiveness.
This is close to my heart because this is something that is not well accomplished in churches today. Churches today tend to have a near impossible time forgiving those who come into their doors. This most commonly looks like judgement. Do we think we can hold judgement over one who Christ has forgiven? This is not how the church ought to behave. We preach a two faced Gospel. Christ came to seek out what was lost! To further expand on this point I turn us to the verse above. It is taken from a story of two sons and their relationship with their father, often it is referred to as the Prodigal Son.
The Prodigal Son
We turn to the prodigal. In Luke 15, we immediately don't like this guy. He comes to his father, "Father give me my inheritance, give me what is mine!" Now the Father has not yet died, culturally even today none of what the Father had could have been considered the Sons. Yet the Father does consider it to belong to his Son, and he graciously shares his wealth. He even says to his older son later "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours." The prodigal, as soon as he gets what he wanted, leaves the presence of the Father. He goes and participates at what we would consider the worst of the worst sins. He essentially leaves and spends all of what he has in Vegas on drugs and hookers. What kind of son is this? I admire this about the prodigal, he is honest! We too often blow his first sin out of proportion and we don't follow his journey of repentance. The Prodigal, with a sounder of pigs he became, suddenly came to his senses and realized his need for his father. He practiced his prayer of repentance, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you, I am no longer worthy to be called your Son, treat me as a servant." The prodigal knew what he deserved, and returned to his fathers house honestly. Many of us in the church claim to have a difficult time relating to the prodigal, which is a true shame. This is what sets our culture that makes it difficult to forgive. In order to forgive we need to come from a place where we have been forgiven. This is why many Christians today relate more to the second son.
The Older Son
The second son is one who is dead set against forgiveness, so if we are to learn how to be disciples and to forgive, we NEED to learn from the second son. As the prodigal left the Fathers property the second son, who we should call Evan for clarity's sake, probably thought of himself very highly. Evan probably looked at his younger brother as a screw-up, and a good for nothing kid, who deserved the pig slop he ended up eating. I am sure this thought went through Joel's mind "now that my Brother is gone, my Father will give me more, he will see me as a greater and more worthy Son!" I don't know about you but I have definitely thought this in the past.
A few years ago my brother got into some trouble, and without having the slightest inkling of compassion, I saw myself as the better son. "Well at least I'm not him, I'm going to Biola! Mom and Dad must be so proud of me." I paid absolutely no attention to my heart and God wrecked me because of it! When the prodigal returned I could just see him thinking, "Pssh what does this guy want? Just wait till Dad tells him off!" Instead the fathers reaction shocks and apawls Him! Imagine seeing your brother returning home, covered in pig slop and vomit, after spending all his inheritance on parties, and your Father goes and spends your inheritance on an extravagant party upon his return. This was outrageous! Totally unheard of! Evan, refusing to attend his brothers party, went to his father and asked "I have been here the whole time, working for you, and you never once threw me a party that I could have with my friends! And when my Brother shows up covered in his own filth, you roll out the red carpet and treat him as royalty! What gives!?" The father's response is where we learn the incredible power of forgiveness and our need for it.
The Father's Response
The Father responds openly to both his sons. He loves and he gives generously to both. But who receives the generosity of the father? The one who revealed, honestly, his need for the father. The prodigal was forgiven much. The one who struggled with forgiveness is the older son. The father makes much of the prodigals return and expects his older son to join in with the festivities. But the older son struggles, he enjoyed the throne he made for himself while his brother was out with his cohorts. Now he would have to humble himself. The father rushed out to save the prodigal from rebuke of the townspeople. The older brother didn't even get a jab in. The Father responded in love.
How we Ought to Respond
The short of it, we ought to behave as the father behaved. Let me ask you this...if a transgender walked into your church service, would you respond like the older son, or would you throw your arms around them like the father did. Churches may not be equipped to forgive our corrupt society on a mass scale, but all it takes is a few people who decide to take what Jesus instructs about forgiveness seriously. Will you? Will you put yourself in front of mocking rebukes of your friends in order to forgive the wayward son like Jesus? We have been forgiven much so that we may forgive much, its just part of being a disciple. It's part of being the church Jesus called us to be. I warn you my last line in not for the faint of heart.
"Those who have ears let them hear." If you are not forgiving the way Christ taught us to forgive, you cannot be called a disciple. In fact you are just as lost, if not more so, then those you judge.
