Denton County Living Well Magazine January/February 2018 | Page 37

The word prodigal doesn’t mean wayward. Rather it de-
scribes one who is recklessly extravagant, having spent
everything!
My reaction should have been the first clue that I had some-
thing to learn that day. Keller explained that the father’s
welcome to the repentant son was literally reckless, be-
cause he refused to “reckon” or count his sin against him or
demand repayment. This response offended the elder son
and most likely the local community.
Keller writes, “Jesus is pleading not so much with immoral
outsiders as with moral insiders. He wants to show them
their blindness, narrowness, and self-righteousness, and
how these things are destroying both their own souls and
the lives of the people around them.”
My pastor tells the story of being invited to church by a
girl he had the hots for in high school. He admits he didn’t
care anything about becoming a Christian, he just wanted
the girl, so he agreed. He’d never been to church, and
didn’t know there was a dress code. While everyone was
in their Sunday finest, the men in suits and ties and women
in dresses, he arrived at The First Baptist Church wearing
flip-flops, shorts and a tee shirt. He sat at the end of the
pew, just waiting for someone to say something. He didn’t
want to be there anyway. Instead, during the greeting an
elderly woman, no more than four foot tall, looked up at
him with kind, brown eyes. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she
said. “I can’t wait to get to heaven and tell her how instru-
mental she was in my coming to Christ,” he said. As a side
note, he married the girl who invited him to church that day.
My pastor’s point to his message is that it’s not about how
much we accomplish or get done in this life, but how we
loved. He said he took the time preparing for his sermon
by not thinking in terms of have I sinned or not, but have I
been loving or unloving this week.
If there’s good news in the story of the two sons, they’re
both invited to the party. However, this particular story ends
on a sad note with the elder brother refusing to come in. In
Matthew 8, a Roman captain comes to ask Jesus to heal his
servant. He demonstrates great faith by saying Jesus could
just say the word and his servant would be healed. The
Message translation powerfully conveys Jesus’ response.
Taken aback, Jesus said, “I’ve yet to come across this kind
of simple trust in Israel, the very people who are supposed
to know all about God and how he works. This man is the
vanguard of many outsiders who will soon be coming from
all directions—streaming in from the east, pouring in from
the west, sitting down at God’s kingdom banquet alongside
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then those who grew up ‘in
the faith’ but had no faith will find themselves out in the
cold, outsiders to grace and wondering what happened.”
It’s easy for me to forget where I came from. I confess there
are times I’m disturbed, even repulsed by people who live
in the pig pen. They’re messy. When they tell me they’re
ready to come home, often times, I’m too cynical to believe.
If I’m honest, the young girl who came to her senses in the
pig pen so many years ago, in many ways resembles the
elder brother today. Lord, help me remember, teach me to
love!
I recently heard someone say, “We are not minimizing sin
when we maximize Christ’s mercy. There is a difference be-
tween whitewashing sin and bloodwashing it.” Every one
of us comes wearing filthy rags. But when we come like the
prodigal, our Father covers us with the robe of His righ-
teousness. He places the family ring on our finger and puts
shoes of purpose on our feet. The fatted calf represents the
best, an abundant life in Christ and a party that never ends!
To learn more about Michelle and see what she’s up to,
visit her page on Facebook at “Michelle Wallace-Hand of the King”.
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