August 26: BROTHER

See it:

To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living.” Luke 15:11-13 (NLT)

Obey it:

Based on the parable of the prodigal son, let’s look at three things the older brother did not do:

1.      He did not stop his brother from leaving. Nowhere in this story do you see the older brother pleading/talking/interceding with his younger sibling to get him to stay. He never calls him his brother. Not once. He calls him “this son of yours” (to the father in v.30) but he never calls him “brother”. Instead let us say: ‘you may end up leaving, but you are someone I am willing to fight for.’

2.      He did not search for him while he was gone. It is interesting that the older brother was pretty specific about the lifestyle that his brother was leading, which begs the question: How did he know? It’s so much easier to judge from afar that it is to get in the pig pen and rescue the lost. Let’s remember that lost people matter to God and that it’s pretty hard to embrace someone you are pointing at.

3.      He did not rejoice when he came back. Here is the clincher. The Bible says that the older, holier brother came near (v.25) to the house. Interesting terminology. What he did not realize is that he too was far from the house. He too needed grace. He needed to understand that maybe he wasn’t as bad but that he was bad enough.

“These who have erred need pity, they need help, they need sympathy. They suffer in their feelings and are frequently desponding and discouraged. Above everything else, they need free forgiveness.” Testimonies for the Church, vol.3 by E.G.White

Share it:
1. Collect clothes to take to a local shelter.
2. Stop to have a conversation with a homeless person.
3. Give an inspiring book to a struggling friend.

My prayer today:
Father, help me fight for them, search for them, and rejoice with them. Amen.

Season of Service