Luke and the Lost

Should we talk about it? Do we just keep sweeping it under the rug? We walk around it, over it, and even smile pleasantly, with political correctness, ignoring the “elephant in the room” in our churches, in staff meetings, in families, with friends, with co-workers, and wonder why peace alludes us.

We cannot leave the passage of the prodigal son, once lost but now found by his father, with talking about…wait for it…the older brother and his attitude.

Luke 15, The Message

25-27 “All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day’s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.’

28-30 “The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’

31-32 “His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’”

What is our attitude when a long term lost person, a person who has even hurt us deeply with their actions in the past, comes home and back to serving in our church. Is there celebration in our hearts? Do we forgive whole and completely like the Father, or sulk like that older brother. Is our first response to treat the lost but found person like royalty? Is their too much “water under the bridge” to trust the lost but found person again? Or can we freely forgive and welcome them back with open arms? Can we really trust this person who has returned? Why does all this go through our minds?

The “elephant in the room” has more to do with the attitude of our hearts as lost are found. “Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends?” Our attitude in serving is at stake, in the church, right here is this acclamation. I even hear the older brother, crying out, as he shouts to his Father in disgust at the celebration of little brother coming home to complete forgiveness over the squandering of his life AND his father’s riches.

HERE IS THE ELEPHANT…
WHY do we do what we do for God’s Kingdom? What reward are we seeking? Do we do it so we will feel better about ourselves? Most of us have low self esteems so this is a common pitfall for many hard working souls. Do we do it because no one else will do it? Have we taken on so much so that our busyness gives us more worth somehow? Has “look what I do” taken over our heart felt attitude to serve because of our love for our Heavenly Father?

If any of these thoughts permeate our attitudes when the “ONE” lost person from the past comes home, we don’t feel like celebrating and lifting them high. We feel very under appreciated for “all the years” we have served. Our thoughts are more focused on balancing the scales of our goodness versus their past sins. Our focus has shifted from seeking the lost to serving that needs noticing. Worse still, we want new lost and found people to think and act like us and take on their share of serving, too! We might even want them to make for “lost time”. Yikes, this is a chaotic place to be in our thinking!

Jesus explains what our Heavenly Father wants us to know…

“Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours–but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, but he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!”

Our Father knows our hearts. He longs for us to know that we are with Him ALL the time. (Brings tears to my eyes!) He knows we mean well, because He knows our hearts. He appreciates our serving Him out of love, not for the above reasons. So we need to stay focused. Be free of our own past sins of serving with impure attitudes. Be free from the past of others’ sins, as well! Move forward. Join in the celebration for today. Serve the Father with gladness…or don’t serve at all.

I was lost, but now I am found! I was blind, but now I see…and understand. Elephant gone. Change of heart brings peace.

Dear Heavenly Father, Those of us who haven’t sinned in extraordinary ways have sinned with our attitudes of heart in serving from time to time. Forgive us. Sin is sin. Help us to stay focused on You being with us and us being with You ALL the time. That is reward enough! Go with us this day, filling us with Your Holy Spirit that splashes over into the lives of those You put in our paths today. Let’s celebrate!
In Jesus Name, Amen