"But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him" v30 Luke 15:28-30 Christian Standard Bible
The Prodigal, as we saw yesterday, has returned home, broken and crushed and full of repentance, and his father has thrown a party to celebrate this fact. However, his brother is not happy about this, 'this son of yours'.
When a person returns to Jesus after falling away for a time, not everyone is happy and greets them with open arms. If this is you, you may have noticed this. Some begrudge the fact that a person has been away from the fold and then returns. The people, who have an attitude, feel they shouldn't be welcomed back but, if they are, they should not receive a pat on the back for it.
This is how the older brother felt. He was angry that a party had been thrown for him and the fattened calf slaughtered. Everyone seemed delighted but, not him, not only was he angry but, he began speaking from his child ego, refusing to go into the house where the celebrations were taking place. No matter how much the father tried, he refused to enjoy the party and he began complaining, criticising and judging and then feeling sorry for himself. One can see his point to a degree, after all, he had remained fathful and hardworking while his brother took half of the inheritance and blasted it on wild living; yet, now he was being treated like a king. One can almost hear him saying, 'It's not fair.'
He had a heart problem - it was full of pride and now hate and, his attitude matched this. He had no compassion, sympathy or love for his brother. Note the father's comments in verse 32; he matches the language of the older son, 'But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found' (CSB). The older son had referred to his brother as , 'this son of yours' v30. The father was reminding him that this was his brother and he needed compassion and forgiveness.
And it is the same for us. People in the church may offend us; they may hurt and anger us but, we need to get our attitude right because they are our brother or sister. We all make mistakes and we all need forgiveness for making them. Our remit is to love and uphold a brother or sister who may be in the wrong, or may have taken a wrong turn but then returned to the fold.
Let us remember that, this is what Jesus did for each of us. So, keep checking your attitude!
Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.
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