Monday, June 15, 2009

Two Ways We Live


Tim Keller, in his book The Prodigal God ("prodigal" defined as "recklessly extravagant and "having spent everything,") gives some insightful commentary on the story of the Prodigal Son. He explains how the actions of the flagrantly immoral younger brother and the unforgiving attitude of his older brother demonstrate two patterns for sin: Outright disobedience or legalism, coming from the motive of trying to manipulate for the father's favor.

Keller wrote, "Do you realize, then, what Jesus is teaching? Neither son loved the father for himself. They both were using the father for their own self-centered ends rather than loving, enjoying and serving him for his own sake. (page 36)

"Elder brothers obey God to get things. They don't obey God to get God Himself--in order to resemble Him, love Him, know Him, and delight Him. So religious and moral people can be avoiding Jesus as Savior and Lord as much as the younger brothers who say they don't believe in God and define right and wrong for themselves." (page 42, 43)

Are you a prodigal son--openly rejecting the love of the father? Are you the older brother who obeys the father out of selfishness, hoping to receive a good, cushy life in return? Or are you both?

(The picture is a detail from "The Prodigal Son in Modern Life: The Return" by James Joseph Jacques Tissot.)