Hope, Healing & Freedom Podcast: Episode 176
TRANSCRIPT
Most people are familiar with the story of the prodigal son. Did you know there are several lessons we can learn from this story that are not what you hear preached on a regular basis? In this podcast I want to look at the story of the prodigal son from a little bit different perspective and pull out several lessons that will help you in your life.
I’m Lee Whitman with Restoring the Foundations and I welcome you into this Hope Healing and Freedom Podcast. Before we begin this week’s podcast, I want to wish all of our American listeners a Happy Thanksgiving. We are so blessed to live in a country with the freedom to worship God openly and freely. No matter if you vote blue or you vote red, I hope we can agree that we are blessed to live in this great country. This Thanksgiving, please join us in thanking God for a “United” States of America.
We previously recorded a podcast called “Your Greatest Sin is Forgivable” which walks through the story of the prodigal son outlining the amazing love and grace of Father God. If you have not listened to that podcast, I encourage you to do so in conjunction with this podcast. This podcast is going to look at the story of the prodigal son from a very different aspect. We are going to look at the lessons we can learn from the prodigal son.
The story is found in Luke 15:11-32. I will not read the story as part of this podcast, so I encourage you to take a few minutes and read it for yourself. I want to look at how this son went so wrong. The first thing we need to understand is that this boy lived on a very wealthy estate. This kid would have grown up with everything his world could offer. They were so wealthy that they had servants, which in our day would be called slaves. These servants grew up and raised their families on this estate, and in a minor way were almost treated like family. As a young child he was probably raised by a servant rather than his mother. He also more than likely played with the servants’ children as his friend. This boy’s father, as head of the household, would have provided everything that these servants and their families needed.
They were so wealthy that they had another level of workers on the estate called hired hands. These would be day laborers who were hired and paid for a day’s work. These hired hands actually worked for the servants. They were lower than the servants in the working order of the estate.
Another clue that this was not just any ordinary working ranch was the fact that this estate also had a special calf that they raised specifically for when dignitaries came to visit. The bible calls it the fatted calf. Dignitaries would not come to visit just an ordinary ranch. They only came to visit a ranch of some importance. This is where this young boy was raised in a home of great affluence and dignity.
This boy would have been schooled in the best Jewish traditions. The first tradition that would have been passed on to every Hebrew boy was the Hebrew religion. This boy would have been schooled almost daily in Orthodox Judaism, where he would have learned respect for all things Jewish, respect for his father, respect for his home, respect for his country, respect for his religion. As we see in this story, he rebelled against each of these treasured things.
This boy rebelled against all the things that he was taught were valuable during his life. I don’t think this boy woke up one morning and simply decided to rebel. I think it was a process that happened over time. This is the first lesson we can learn from the prodigal son. This boy began listening to the voice of discontent that must have been planted in his mind over a longer period of time. I don’t know for sure what the voice said to him, but I can guess because rebellion says the same things to us today. It starts with mistrust. “Does your father really have your best interest in his heart, or is he just trying to control you so you will work on this ranch?” Mistrust in our lives would have you begin to doubt the goodness of Father God. “Is God really good?” Then rebellion leads to disrespect and independence. “I don’t have to do what my father wants me to do. He is just trying to control me. I know what is best for my life.” I’m glad we never say things like that, right? Independence is seen as a valuable trait, especially here in the United States. Our country was founded on gaining independence by rebelling against our British parents. Self-reliance is deeply rooted in the American culture as well. “Don’t let anyone tell you how to live your life.” Does that sound familiar? The lesson from the prodigal son is to take captive even the little thoughts that go against God so that they don’t grow into something bigger like full blown rebellion.
The second lesson from the prodigal son is that you may have a multitude of people who will hang around you when things are going well. This boy took his newfound wealth and went to live in a distant country. This is another place where we see his rebellion. He no longer wanted to live in his homeland. The scripture says that this boy squandered his wealth with loose living. It does not say these words, but it is hard to squander your wealth with loose living all by yourself. While he had money, my guess is that he had many people who hung around with him to help him spend his money. I would not call these people friends, because as soon as the money ran out, they were gone. Our relationship with God is not meant to be lived in isolation. We have an enemy who wants us to be isolated so that he can whisper things like discontent in our ears.
My first job as a minister was on a church staff of 5 young ministers all about my age of 30 years old, and one seasoned veteran minister. We were helping the seasoned minister plant a church in Dallas, Texas. For the first two years our staff was in a very close relationships with each other. We of course were all working together helping this new ministry grow. As the church grew, our times of fellowship lessened and most of our time was spent working in our areas of responsibility. We grew apart and became isolated from each other due to the pressures of this growing ministry. One of those ministers ended up leaving the ministry and began living a gay lifestyle. Another of the guys marriage got into trouble, and he also is no longer in ministry. I believe the enemy used something good, helping a growing church, to isolate these men in order to whisper his lies in their ears. When you look at Jesus ministry, He sent his disciples out two by two. He understood how vulnerable people are to the evil one when they try to walk this life by themselves. The lie of rebellion is that we don’t need anyone else. We can live our Christian life all by ourselves. And let me say that yes, you can live your relationship with God with just you and God. But there is a reason that God had the apostle Paul describe believers as a body, with all of the parts needing the other parts. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul gives a beautiful description of the Church being like a human body, where all the parts need the other parts. Isolation kills but being joined to other believers provides health and strength. We need the other parts of the body for our edification and protection.
A very important lesson from the prodigal son is that not all famines are created equal. Yes, you heard me correctly. Not all famines are created equal. We look at negative events as all bad, when it was a famine that turned this boy toward home. Jerry was the go-to guy. Ever since he can remember, if there was a problem, Jerry could solve it. He was so good at solving problems that he became a very highly paid business consultant. Jerry had it all. Until he had a heart attack at 43 that made it difficult for Jerry to even dress himself. He went from this highly successful and self-reliant guy, to needing his wife’s help getting dressed. Yet Jerry will tell you that this heart attack was the best thing that ever happened to him. He had a minimal relationship with God before his heart attack, and he would tell you that he thought he did not need God because he could be successful on his own. After the heart attack, he met Jesus in a way that has changed his life forever. He now realizes that everything he has is a gift from God, including this heart attack. It took a famine to wake this boy up so that he would return home. Sometimes we look at negative things in our life and wonder what we have done wrong to cause it to happen. Or we wonder why God is punishing us with this negative event. But what if God, who the bible says causes all things to work together for our good, is using this event to bring about changes in our life? Changes that in the short run are painful, yet in the long run will bring about righteousness, peace, and joy.
Another lesson from the prodigal son is that no matter how far off you wander, Father God does not stop looking for you. This boy did not get what he deserved. He insulted and offended his father in almost every way possible, yet the father waited and watched for his return. And then when he saw him a long way off, the father ran to greet this sinful and wayward son. As you know, Jesus told this story to tell us about our Father God. How is God able to receive this boy back after all of his sin and rebellion? I think it is because Father God is able to separate our behavior from who we really are as His children. He can separate our who from our do. We live in a world marked by shame. Shame says our do dictates our who. In other words, what we do determines who we are. Not so with Father God. He created us in His image, with great value and worth. When he looked at this wayward boy, He did not see all of the sin this boy had committed. Instead, He saw His beloved son who was lost to him and now had returned. The act of redemption is one of the greatest gifts offered to us by God. Redemption means to pay the price to repurchase something that was sold, for example something sold to a pawn shop. The item that was sold now belongs to another, so it needs to be repurchased. That is what Jesus did for us. He paid the price to purchase us back and He paid the wages of sin on our behalf. Now when Jesus and Father God look at us, they don’t see us as the sinful child who is identified by the sin we have committed. Rather they see their beloved son or daughter.
The last lesson from the story of the prodigal son is that the Father was so happy that His son had come home that he threw him a party. It says they killed that fattened calf which was kept for visiting dignitaries, and they whole estate celebrated the sons return. When you have been into sin and repent for that sin, do you feel the Fathers celebration at your return, or do you feel the shame of your behavior? This story clearly shows that shame is not from Father God, but celebration is.
PRAYER
Father God thank You for Your incredible love and grace that can forgive our sin and see us not for the mistakes we have committed, but for the beloved child we are to You. Lord help us not to take your grace and forgiveness for granted, but to recognize the high price that Jesus paid for it. Father, would You help us recognize when we are allowing discontent to creep into our thinking. Help us to take those thoughts captive and drive them out before they lead us down the road to something worse.
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