GraceCreates

By Jon Walker

“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.’” Luke 15:22 (NIV)

In the story of the prodigal, we identify with the younger brother, seeing ourselves as prodigals returning to God.

Some of us even identify with the older brother, realizing we’ve sinfully harbored resentment when God shows grace to others who, in our wrongful judgment, are less Christian than ourselves.

But have you ever thought God wants you to identify with the prodigal’s father, who “keeps no record of wrongs” as he scans the horizon always hoping for the return of his son (1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV)?

Consider that we’re on a journey, through Jesus, to become like the heavenly Father—one with his heart, one with his mind, and one with his other-centered focus. When we resemble Jesus, we resemble the Father (John 10:30).

People will see the family resemblance in us; as sons and daughters, they’ll see the maturity of our Father working in and through us. We’re to mature into fathers and mothers of the faith, an idea I’ve reflected on since reading Henri J. M. Nouwen’s The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming (Image Books/Doubleday Publishing Group, 1994).

Our objective in Jesus is to become a father or mother of the faith, a living representation of the Father’s compassion for others. The idea of becoming a father of the faith is alien to me as much as it may be for you to believe you could develop into a mother or father of the faith.

In fact, it seems impossible, but, in truth, it’s what we are meant to become; yet, there are so few.

To echo Oswald Chambers, “Do you not want to be a saint, or do you not believe God can make you one?”

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

“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.’” Luke 15:17–19 (NIV)

While sitting among pigs, the prodigal son finally sees himself as wretched. There’s nothing like having a pig ask you to pass the biscuits to help you see you’re really in a mess.

Rabbi Paul says we’ve got to get to wretched status so we can see we need a Savior: “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24 NIV).

The problem is, some of us, quite a few of us, need to sink into the sty before we finally cave to the wretched truth about ourselves. Like sin addicts, we have to hit bottom before we’ll get serious about our sin problem.

The prodigal’s father lets him wander off to the far country, just like God gives us the freedom to wallow with pigs, if we’re destructively dense enough to do so. He can wash the pig smell away with the hyssop of Christ’s blood (Psalm 51).

If you’re sitting with the pigs, consider God is pushing you toward the moment when you see yourself as wretched, see your sin as wretched, see your life as wretched, so you can, then, move on to see the One who will rescue you from the cycle of death.

Your stay in the sty will soon seem minor as the truth of God takes deep root within you.

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.