The Other Son
Jesus spoke a parable that Luke share in chapter 15 about a rancher who had two sons. The younger one decided he was going to head out on his own and asked for his share of his father’s inheritance. Going out wasn’t the problem; the problem was that he was going completely on his own without his father direction or support.
I think of all the times the Cartwright boys went somewhere and how they’d always seem to get in trouble, even though Ben had sent them on a mission of one sort or another. It usually involved buying cattle or horses to upgrade the Ponderosa. Well, anyway, they’d get in a pretty fair amount of trouble as they would have to make the show last for about an hour. Jesus told of how this young man had left the ranch. And he took his inheritance, but not his blessing. Meanwhile, the older son was stuck at the home place having to work and take care of everything including the work his younger brother used to do.
Well, the younger one was living it up and drinkin’ and carousing. But he soon found himself dead broke. And to make it worse, the country where he was living was experiencing a severe drought at the time. Well, he finally found a job slopping hogs and even “borrowing” some of the slop for he was starving. This is about the time he came to the brilliant conclusion that it would be much better to eat off the floor of his father’s bunkhouse, so he headed home. But remember, he had nothing! He didn’t even have a horse, and he likely lost his saddle in a poker game.
The trail home was a long one, but he finally made it to the front gate.
Pop saw him coming and ran and gave him a big ole “I love you” bear hug.
Now, what about the older brother? You know, the one that did all his chores and stayed practically within a stone’s throw of the home place all his life. He came in from the back forty as he had heard all the commotion and goings on. His got there in time to see how his daddy had welcomed home his good for nothing brother right in front of all the hands and told ‘em to butcher the calf they had been feeding out over at the corral. Boy, that older brother was ticked!
“You mean that after all I’ve done, you are welcoming home that worthless brother of mine and even butchering that fat calf we’ve been feeding? I’ll have no part of this!”
Could it be that the older brother had hung around the ranch (church) all his life yet didn’t even know his Father?
The Father wants to throw a big feast because one has come to Christ, and yet we’re jealous because we somehow think he or she don’t deserve to walk in the doors of the church, much less the gate to the trail of life!
It reminds me of some little kids at the store with Ma and she gives them all a piece of candy, but one is ticked, “How come I got a smaller piece than everybody else?” We’re never happy.
But I’ll tell you folks, we ought to rejoice when another comes into God’s family! We should be jumping for joy and yelling“YEEHAW”whenonewhowaslostcomestotheFather through Christ the Son. God’s grace demands a celebration! Luke 15:31b-32: ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. ‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’
Choose Jesus, choose life! And find a Bible believin’ church where you “fit in” and know, grow, and follow Christ! Tell others! See y’all at church and keep PRAYIN’ for HIS HARVEST! And y’all KEEP PRAYIN’ for RAIN! Amen