Luke 15:11-24

Luke 15:11-24 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate."

Let’s have a feast and celebrate: a wonderful statement that should thrill our hearts. That is what God said when each of us came to him: "Angels, let's celebrate!" As with the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, this story illustrates how much love the Lord God has for us. He loves us with an everlasting love. The father in the parable did not give up hope that his lost son would come home, and when he discovered his lost son coming down the road, he ran to him and helped him the rest of the way home. Even today, God is in the business of receiving lost sons and daughters back to him. He is in the business of running out and greeting them. He is in the business of having a feast for each one of them. They were lost in the pigpen of life, but now they are found; now they have come home.

The son thought the world was more attractive than home. He asked for his inheritance or the blessings of God. God gave them to him; he had strength, intelligence and breath to live the life he wanted to live. The son went out and squandered this wealth, participating in everything the world offered. This parable reminds me of Elvis Presley. He started singing in the church and ended up performing in casinos, bloated and polluted by drugs. He squandered what God gave him. Hopefully, in the last few minutes of his life, his Father saw him a long way off and ran to greet him. I believe that probably happened. The criminal on the cross asked Jesus to remember him and the Father in heaven ran out to greet him: Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43 God reads the intent of the heart, not merely words. We do not need a lot of words, just a heartfelt sorrow and a need for God. I wonder how many heart attack victims, how many stroke victims, how many overdosed people, how many in their last breath said, "Oh God, help me?"

In all of the parables we have studied, we see how much God loves people, how much He loves the wayward ones who have squandered their wealth. He constantly looks down the road to see if anyone is coming from a long ways off. He sees them when they fall to the ground in the hands of death. He sees them when fear creeps across their faces because of their imminent demise. He sees those who are alone and crying, struggling with their last breaths. He sees the soldier on the field of battle writhing in the throes of death. He sees all those who earnestly say, "Oh God, help me." God loves people.

Is this an easy gospel? No, but it is the gospel of the Lord, a gospel of grace. All who seek him will find him. He is tender towards us. God is not like us. We make people earn their way to our acceptance; God just asks us to turn towards home. Just turn! He will be there. What about God and Jesus? What about salvation? Salvation comes through accepting Christ's work on the cross. I'll let the Triune God determine how he wants to clean up the son who has been wallowing in the pigsty, the place for an animal so dirty that God did not want the Jewish people to eat it or sacrifice it. I'll let God determine how the criminal who desired to be in his presence should enter his presence. I'll let God be God. But I believe emphatically, the Bible says the blood of Jesus has to be the cleansing agent for all mankind. The blood alone renews, cleanses and creates, satisfying the wrath of God on all waywardness and sin. Our part is to turn and to accept.

Let’s have a feast and celebrate is God's call to the heavenly occupants. Let's rejoice, For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ The elder son was unhappy with the father for allowing the younger son to enter back into the family so easily. He wanted a long prayer of repentance and maybe a sin sacrifice from the youngest. He wanted the father to make his brother earn back his position as a full-fledged member of the family. He did not want the youngest to receive the full blessings of his father, but the father says, Let's have a feast. He did not consider his returning son as the least in the family; he was accepted as a full-blown member of the family with all the rights and privileges of a son, deserving a feast. The father totally accepted him as if he never had sinned. Is this possible in the kingdom of God? Yes, the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. The least shall be the greatest, the greatest the least. God accepts a repentant heart, a cry for help, a returning cry, "Oh God, help me," for He loves us with an everlasting love and He made a way home through the blood of his beloved Son.