For The Father

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in… ‘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 15:28-29 [NIV].

The older son couldn’t understand the party so he became angry and refused to go in. “ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!” Luke 15:30 [NIV]. The older son felt cheated; why did you kill the fattened cow ‘for him’? Do you know how long it took us to feed that cow fat? To understand the reason for the party, you need to look back, go back to the beginning. Jesus gave them this parable to further explain; which means there was something that Jesus was explaining before. It is a trilogy; the first part of the story is the story of the lost sheep: there was a shepherd, he had a hundred sheep and one got missing. He left ninety-nine and went after the one. When he got the one, he rejoiced [threw a party] with his neighbors. The second story was the story of the lost coin: a woman had ten coins and lost one. And she turned the place upside down. When I read this, I totally understood the woman because that is what my wife would do too. And I would say to her, ‘Baby, it is just one coin; you have nine’. And she would say, ‘No, I must find it’. In fact, I’ve resigned. It must be a female thing; the male species do not understand it. Anyway, the woman searches everywhere and finally finds that one coin and she calls her neighbors and throws a party because of one coin. Then the story of the lost son: a father lost his son and got the son back, and then he throws a party. The question is, why the party? Why was the shepherd throwing the party? Was he throwing a party for the sheep? Why was the woman throwing a party? Was she throwing a party for the coin so the coin can be happy? Why was the father throwing a party? He said, my son was lost, now he is found. The party was for the father, not for the boy. For every one that repents, the Bible says there is joy in heaven. The party is for the Father. Every time you receive the grace of God to move to another level in your life, guess who rejoices? God rejoices because He has gained something. Which is why you have to be gracious in your life also. I mean if your spouse has crossed the line, if you will be gracious, guess what? You would have gained a lover back. Who has gained? So when you are gracious to people, stop thinking you are doing them a favor. I know it can be really tough; but the truth of the Word of God is that when you show grace, you gain. When you show mercy, you gain. The father gained a son, the woman gained a coin, and the shepherd gained a sheep.

Prayer: Father, the depth of Your sacrifice for me keeps me in awe of You. Thank You Father, it is truly a privilege to be called by Your Name, in Jesus Name.