The Father and the Prodigal Son (1)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bible Verses~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luke 15:11 And He said, A certain man had two sons. (12) And
the younger of them said to the father, Father, give me the
share of the estate that falls to me. And he distributed to
them his living. (13) And not many days after, the younger son,
having gathered everything together, went abroad to a distant
country and there squandered his estate by living dissolutely.
(14) And when he had spent all, a severe famine occurred
throughout that country, and he began to be in want. (15) And
he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that
country; and he sent him into his fields to feed hogs. (16) And
he longed to be satisfied with the carob pods which the hogs
were eating, and no one gave him anything. (17) But when he
came to himself, he said, How many of my father's hired
servants abound in bread, but I am perishing here in famine!
(18) I will rise up and go to my father, and I will say to him,
Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. (19) I am
no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of
your hired servants. (20) And he rose up and came to his own
father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw
him and was moved with compassion, and he ran and fell on his
neck and kissed him affectionately.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Words of Ministry~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Part 1 of 2]
In verse 19 we see that the prodigal intended to say to his
father, "I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me
as one of your hired servants." This indicates that the
prodigal son did not know the Father's love. A fallen sinner
having once repented always thinks of working for God or
serving God to obtain His favor, not knowing that this thought
is against God's love and grace and is an insult to His heart
and intent. The father's seeing the son did not happen by
chance. Rather, the father went out of the home to look for his
prodigal's return. When the father saw his son, he ran to him
and fell on his neck and kissed him affectionately. This
indicates that God the Father runs to receive a returning
sinner. What eagerness this shows! The father's falling on his
son's neck and kissing him affectionately shows a warm and
loving reception.
If we read carefully the parable of the loving father, we shall
see that while the prodigal son was still squandering the
father's riches, the father was waiting for him to come back.
When the son came to himself and decided to go to his father,
he prepared what he would say to him: "Father, I have sinned
against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be
called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants" (15:18-
19). What would you have said to the father if you had been the
prodigal son in this parable? Perhaps you would have said to
yourself, "...I feel ashamed and foolish for squandering
everything my father gave me. I cannot bear to recall the way I
have been living. I know for sure that my father will not be
outside waiting for me...."
To the prodigal son's great surprise, "While he was still a
long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion;
and he ran and fell on his neck and kissed him affectionately"
(v. 20). Perhaps the prodigal said to himself, "This is like a
dream! I didn't call out or knock on the door, but my father
comes running to me. Now he is embracing me and kissing me!"
[Continued tomorrow]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry. Bible verses are taken from
the Recovery Version of the Bible (RcV) and Words of Ministry,
from Witness Lee, Life-study of Luke, pp. 294, 300. Both are
published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. (Repeat
2/8/01)
Please visit us at www.emanna.com
Comments to: comment@emanna.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe ultimate.philippine.travel.blog@blogger.com from the mailing list, simply click on the link below:
http://mail.emanna.com/smpro/s.pl?r=1&l=2&e=ultimate.philippine.travel.blog=:blogger.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email: ultimate.philippine.travel.blog@blogger.com
ID: 16021
Time Completed: 11:09 PM
Language: English
List: 2.list
Email type: plain
Message Date: 09/28/2007
