Imanuel G. Christian
November 2012
We are all very
familiar with the parable of the lost (prodigal) son (Luke 15:11-31). The
parable tells the story of a loving father and his two sons. One is
irresponsible, the other hard working. One wastes his life and comes home
humbled; the other proudly refuses to celebrate his brother’s home coming. It
tells of the father’s love and understanding and how he deals with each of
them. The story ends with one son inside enjoying a joyful family celebration,
the other lingers outside, refusing to join the celebration, bitterly unwilling
to forgive. The story raises a question: which son is really lost?
This is all too familiar to us;
father and his two sons. Now, before reading further, please open your Bible
and read that parable. After you have read it, answer this question: how many
human characters are in this story? Three---the father and his two sons? Well,
there are lots of other people: the servants and all those friends and neighbors
who join the celebration, also the friends of the prodigal son. But have you
ever considered the owner of the herd of pigs who hired the lost son?
What kind of person do you think
this owner of the pigs must have been? Obviously, he was rich, at least
comparatively doing well. While others starved because of the famine, he owned
a herd of pigs. He was able to hire a servant to take care of the pigs. What
kind of nature did he have? Obviously, he did not care and had no concern for
his servant(s). He gave the prodigal son a job, but did not provide for even
the most basic needs like food and shelter. He sent his servant, the son, to
the fields, but did not bring him into his home. He had no pity, no care, and
no concern it seems.
Compared to this man, think of the
father of the son. Not only was he rich and had lots of servants, but he was
loving and kind. His heart ached for his sons, for both sons. He longed to
bring them into his home. He longed to have a relationship and fellowship with
both the sons. He wanted them to be part of his life, wanted them to enjoy all
the blessings of the family relationship.
Now, if you had to choose between
the two, with whom would you want to have a relationship? With whom would you
want to spend your time and life? To whom would you give your life and service?
The choice seems obvious, right? Even the question seems ridiculous! And yet,
we see people making wrong choices! Not just the people of the world, but even
those of us who consider ourselves growing disciples sometimes make wrong
choices, choosing to serve the world rather than the Father.
Why would anyone leave the Father’s
home and go out and serve a master who has nothing of any significance to
provide and exacts from us hard labor without rewarding anything of value in
return? The answer is probably the same as for the prodigal son who left his
father’s home: to have fun filled life! To have a blast! Like the prodigal son,
we too are sometimes tempted to think that the grass is greener on the other side.
The world is very tempting place! As
John very succinctly puts it, there are three things of the world that continue
to lure us away from enjoying the Father’s blessings (1 John 2:16 KJV). One is
“the lust of the flesh”, preoccupation with gratifying our physical desires.
Today we are surrounded by all kind of allurements that appeal to our “flesh”
and if we are not careful, these things, not evil in themselves, can lead us
away from the Father’s fellowship.
Second is “the lust of the eyes”,
craving worldly pleasures, pleasures that gratify the sight and invade our
thought process and affect our worldview. Most of the pleasures that the world
offers are visual and the eyes are the windows to our mind and heart.
And
number three, “the pride of life”, “boasting of what he has and does” (NIV),
“boastful pride of life” (NASB). That is the materialistic attitude,
accumulating things we do not need. This is why we crave a bigger home, more
expensive cars, better clothes, ultra modern appliances and all the more toys,
more and better than our friends and neighbors. We are always comparing and
competing and never satisfied.
The
serpent used these same three devices to tempt Eve. “When the woman saw the
fruit of the tree was good for food (the lust of the flesh) and pleasing to the
eye (the lust of the eyes), and also desirable for gaining wisdom (the pride of
life), she took some and ate it” (Genesis 3:6). The devices of the serpent have
not changed, nor has the nature of man.
How can we protect ourselves from
being tempted to move away from the things of the Father to the things of the
world, from giving our life and service to the Father to spending and wasting
life in running after the world? One of the sure remedies is a heart full of
gratitude for the blessings the Father has already given to us, the attitude of
gratitude, not just for a particular day or time of the year, but all the
moments of our life.
The way it works for me (please
forgive me for being too personal here) is never forgetting where I was and
where the Father has brought me today. I was born in a small village in India.
My parents were very poor, no source of any income. So they moved to a city and
found a job in a textile factory where they labored until their retirement.
They left my older brother and me back in the village with my uncle and aunt
who did not have any child of their own.
My uncle had a small business of
selling handloom cotton cloth. But he was too kind to have good business. He
sold things on credit and most of the people did not pay him back. During mango
season my brother and I would roam in the farms to collect mangoes, peel and
dry them and sell them. During peanut harvest, after the crop was taken we
would systematically follow the furrow, digging with a spade collecting peanuts
left underground. We did not have running water and so we two brothers had to
walk several times a day to a river to carry water pots on our heads (which was
women’s work, and I always felt embarrassed). After finishing high school in
the village I moved to the city with my parents. That was the first time I touched a bicycle!
After four years of college life
took a major turn. Not only was I offered a faculty position in the same
college I graduated from, but that same year I accepted the Lord and committed
my life to full time ministry. And the rest is history, as they say! Today God
has blessed me and my wife with joyful opportunities to serve Him. He has
blessed us with our three sons and their loving families who are blessed and
doing well in every way.
Now, why would I leave the Father
who has blessed me so much and go back and serve the world? For me and my
family there is no greener grass anywhere else. I suspect we all have the same
story, just different details, as Paul notes (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). If so,
why would we serve any other master? “But as for me
and my household, we will serve the Lord.” “Bless
the LORD,
O my soul, and forget none of His benefits”.
Happy
Thanksgiving!!
