The Two Lost Sons

From the Word

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

“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.’ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“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. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘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. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” Luke 15:11-32

In this passage there are two sons – a younger son and an older son.

One Lost Son: Honest with the Father

The younger son decides that he is tired of the life he has, and he wants to lay claim to the inheritance due him. He wants his father to die so that he can live. Instead of waiting for his death, he goes to his father and honestly tells him what he wants. He is forthcoming in his heart’s desire, but he does not value his father.

So his father says okay, whatever you ask, I will be dead to you so you can live the life you want to live. He divides his estate and gives the son his inheritance. Of course the younger son goes off and squanders what he has been given, and the father is sad and longs to see him return home. The son has distanced himself from his dad, wastes all the money, and stores nothing for the future. He falls onto hard times as a famine comes.

Eventually he looks and finds a job, feeding pigs. This job is scandalous, as the pigs are unclean animals to him, and he feeds the unclean, making himself further unclean, but as he mingles with the unclean he begins to change in his heart, and his heart becomes clean. He feeds the pigs, but no one feeds him, and he comes to his senses.

He knows he has stolen from a good man – his father, and he dare not steal food from the pigs. Despite turning against his father, he has some, albeit small, dignity. What he set out to do was find his life, but in doing so, he lost his life and was dying, hungry, and malnourished. He remembered his father – that he was a good man who even fed the hired servants with food to spare. He knows he can no longer claim sonship, but if he can just gain a job from his father at least he will be able to eat and live. So he returns.

The father has been waiting for him to come home all of this time, and meets him with compassion and favor. The son repents, and the father honors him. The son had wanted his dad to die, but instead he had died and in doing so was restored to life, to full fellowship with his father, so that he could live.

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:25

One Lost Son: Dishonest to the Father

The older son was not much different than the younger son, with the exception of one way: he hid his heart from his dad. Perhaps, he wanted his inheritance same as his brother, but he hid this in his heart and planned to work for his inheritance until his dad died.

He said good-bye to his brother as he left. His brother had asked for something that has not yet his up front, but he hid his evil desire in his heart. Just like his brother had placed distance between himself and his father, so there was distance, albeit different, between the older son and father as well.

The son worked hard picking up the slack of his younger brother’s absence and running the estate. He noticed his father’s eyes watching the horizon and he was often disgusted that his father waited for his brother to return. When, he wondered, would his father notice him? When would he receive the favor and receive what his brother already had? He was jealous of his brother who he had lost, and he didn’t grieve his loss or worry over him. He wanted the life his brother was living. And even if he didn’t just want what his brother had, his portion of his inheritance, or his father’s glance, he wanted something more, and an evil desire was born in his heart and he never acknowledged it to the father.

One day he heard rejoicing. When he made inquiry, he found that his brother was home, and that his father was celebrating. This made him angry. He was not happy to see his dead brother alive again. He had worked to receive his father’s notice and glance and here was the misfit home again and there was rejoicing. This was hardly fair. His father hearing of his anger came to him and begged and pleaded for him to come into the party. He refused his father’s intimate offer. He told his father that he had never received anything, at which his dad reminded him that all he had was his. He simply had to ask or use what was already there.

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” John 15:7

Two Lost Sons

There were two sons who both wanted death to occur so that they could receive abundant life, but only one received it. The younger son lost his life and in doing so found life. The older son who also lost his life never received a point low enough to cause him to return home. He was lost in his heart and never spent time learning to know and understand the father, who he had easy access to, yet the younger brother understood and knew the father enough to know that he was a kind man.

A Father’s Love

This parable is about a father’s love for his two lost sons. He has two sons and neither one appreciate him very much. One wants him to die so that he can have some money and stuff and the other one wants to earn his favor so that he can have more stuff for himself. Neither one have a heartfelt relationship with the father.

Our Lost Hearts

We’ve all been lost. On the one hand, we may have never spent time getting to know the Father who we’ve been taught about all our lives. We go to church, but we’ve never invited him into our hearts or spent time being intimate with Him. We work work work to gain His favor, to realize that we could have had his favor all along. If we’d only confessed our hearts to him, we would understand His heart better. We are like the older son in this.

Perhaps we know the father well enough to know His goodness, but we decide to squander what we’ve been given until we don’t have anymore. We run away and try to live on our own might and strength (which in essence is what both sons do), and find we still need a father to care for us, so we return home. We are like the younger son in this.

I’ve lived both ways. One, working for his provision when it was already mine and two, wandering and running in the darkness until I had nothing.

There are two ways to live.  Submitted to him, confessing all the hidden places of our hearts, realizing his abundant provision. Or living far away without him and without abundance. I know which one I want to choose – how about you?

How to Live Abundantly

1. Confess to the father all the hidden places of your heart – even the ones you think are too dark to bring to the light.

2. Tell him you want to be His servant and live under His provision and with His presence.

3. Watch Him provide over and beyond your needs.