This message started out differently, but God was kind enough to show me something else, something that has even more value.
Generally, something that is lost has value, we miss it, we want it back.
I lost my keys… It has value… I want it back.
I lost my sandwich… (mostly teenagers), but it has value today! – I want it back!
I lost my self worth, I lost direction, I lost integrity… I lost my purpose…
We all know the story of the Prodigal son. A story Jesus told. In my bible it is titled:
“The parable of the Lost Son”
A father had two sons and one son asked his father for his inheritance, because he wanted to get of the farm and go and make a name for himself in the world. The father gave him half of everything he owned and off he went.
Now, I am pretty sure the son had better intentions than described by Jesus… maybe he thought he will become a trader, or and influential businessman. Maybe he started out great, but one night said yes to one drink too many… and a party started. The next night he said yes to the wrong girl, and another party started and before he knew it… he was chasing the feel good instead of the hard work, saying yes to the small sins became saying yes to the big sins, until he was broke and alone and doing another thing he said he will never do: Taking care of pigs in the dirt.
One “yes”, became another “yes”, became another “yes”.
James says:
“Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you!”
(James 4:7 NIV)
But the boy didn’t.
We take one step away, say one yes we shouldn’t, and after a while, we are years gone and miles away.
But the Bible says:
“Humble yourself before the lord and He will lift you up
(James 4:10 NIV)
Repent of the “small” sins quickly! Say “NO!” to the worldly temptations!
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
(1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV)
But even if you didn’t say no…, it only takes one turn to be back home…
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
(James 4:7–8, NIV)
Now, this is where the story changes from what I wanted to talk about.
I was going to talk about addiction, and perseverance, pushing through and holding onto God as you rebuild your neural pathways.
I was going to talk about resisting the urges, handling pornography and managing your Christian lifestyle.
But Jesus wasn’t finished with the story…
(and we know it was important, because Jesus made a point of extending the story)
There was a second son!
Bam bam Baaah!
[ominous music]
Plot twist…!
The second son is not a happy camper…
“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.”
(Luke 15:29 NIV)
Imagine for a minute, The Second Son: Hard working, out every day, tending the herds, preparing the fields, caring for the workers… Every day, doing what the Father asked of him.
Obedient, but apparently, unhappy…
And this is what God asked me…: Which son was lost?
The one that came to his sense, understood how far he has fallen, and returned to the father? Or the one that lived in the father’s provision. With food, and wealth, and authority. Lacking nothing, except… He carried his position like a burden.
If we carry the parrable through to its conclusion, We can probably assume that we are the sons and the father is God. One son lost his way, but humbled himself, repented and returned to God, grabbing onto Him.
The other lost son, was with God daily, had an open door to Him, but was working every day, for God, not because of his position or his situation, but hoping for a reward… a goat for a braai. Never realising the truth:
“ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.”
(Luke 15:31 NIV)
The Second Son was trying to earn his father’s respect. He was trying to show that he was not like his brother. He was trying to show what a good son is suppose to be, instead of just being the son and living a life that is the result of being a son…
The first son came back to the father.
Unfortunately, we don’t know if the second son made it back…
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
(James 4:10 NIV)
Have we become so busy, trying to be good, trying to serve, trying to bear fruit, (straining to push out those pears 😉) that we also started saying “yes” to the wrong things? That we became busy with God’s things, instead of drawing near to God?
I don’t think the Father was upset with the second son… just sad.
One day, when we die, will people say:
“He was always at church. He was always doing ‘God’s Work’, He was always with his church people”
Or will they say ”He was close to God”
The one does not equal the other…
