Come to Your Senses!

It's quite the picture, isn't it? We see the son of the rich man, who had lived comfortably his whole life. Recently he had asked for his inheritance from his father and had gone about some extravagant living. But now things had changed. We now see him with the pigs, so hungry that he was ready to eat their feed. We might wanna say to ourselves, “What is he thinking?!” And, fair enough. He had a loving father that was ready to welcome him back. But at this point he didn't recognize how deep his father's love was and all that that meant for him. You and I also have a Father that loves us, even more than any earthly father ever could. But we don't always appreciate all that his love means for us and for those around us. Sometimes we wanna do our own thing, and that can all too often land us in some pretty messy situations. And if we take a step back, we've gotta ask ourselves, “What were we thinking?!” So, this morning, I'm going to ask you to

Come to your senses!

1. Confess your sin
2. Celebrate your Father's love

As the story begins, we hear about a man with two sons, and we see how the younger son really made a mess of things. “Jesus told them this parable: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’” Here's the first time that we find ourselves asking, “What was he thinking?” At home he had financial stability and a relationship with his family. But he decided he didn't need that relationship. He just wanted the money. In fact, he didn't even wanna wait 'til his father was ready to give it to him. He just said, “I know what I want and I want it now.” Parents, imagine if one of your children came to you with a request like this. You might not be so ready to give the handout knowing that it would mean the end of your relationship with your child. But the father in the story didn't force him to stay. He just gave him what he asked for and let him go. The younger son here has already made a mess of things. He's squandered his relationship with his father, and he's just getting started.

“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.” We don't get a lot of details here, but we don't necessarily need a ton of them to get the picture. He's not maxing out his IRA every year. He's living it up. And he's probably having a pretty good time, too. At least for the time being. We'll see in a minute that this party didn't last forever.

Now, When you think of real life examples of this proverbial “prodigal son”, who comes to mind? Maybe a sibling or a friend comes to mind who had everything, but then squandered it. And maybe you can't help but draw those comparisons in your mind. In fact, I'll admit that when I look at this story, there's someone who comes to mind as this younger son: Me. I can't help but think of all the times that I've desired material blessings more than I've desired a relationship with God. And I know there have been plenty of times where I've squandered what God has given to me. I hope there are other people here who think of themselves when they hear about this younger son. If you've never seen yourself when you look at the younger son in this story, take another look.

Who of you can say that you've never been frustrated, waiting for God's timing rather than your own. And who of you could claim that you've always made the most of the gifts God has given you? Time gets wasted constantly. It happens way too often that we fail to carve out time to spend with God in his Word, or we let distractions take us away from other important responsibilities. And, while we may not have squandered our money like the younger son in the story did, that doesn't mean that we haven't misused it. Money can so easily get in the way of relationships. It can and does split up families and friends. There are so many times when we don't use God's gifts the way he wants us to. If you think about it, you can all probably come up with ways that you've squandered God's gifts that he's given to you. In those ways, we're just like that prodigal, wasteful son.

This story would be quite the downer if it ended with the prodigal son, having wasted everything, being left to starve. But it doesn't. The story goes on, “After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “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! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.” You see, he had hit rock bottom. He had gone from his life of stability with his father, now he was so hungry that he wanted nothing more than to eat pig feed to satisfy the intense hunger he had. Then he finally came to his senses. The memory of his father's love and grace moved him to confess his sin and trust in his father to take care of him.

Maybe that's where you are in your life. Maybe you've made one bad decision after another and the consequences are all crashing in around you. That's probably where some of you are. Just like the son in the story, you want nothing more than to be restored to your father's good graces. But, I'm sure there are also plenty of you who feel like life is going pretty well right now. But whether we're flying high or sinking to the bottom, there is no difference, for all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. For that reason, we would all do well to join with the son's confession, “Father, I have sinned. I am no longer worthy to be called your child.”

Do those words sound familiar? We say something similar to that nearly every time we gather together in church. Because every week we realize our faults again, and we confess them to our father again. Look at the father's reaction in the story after his son returned home: “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” The father in the story was overjoyed when his son came home. He didn't make his son work as a servant. He received him back gladly.

God also rejoices every time a sinner repents. That's really what this whole chapter of Luke 15 is all about. This reading leaves out two parables that Jesus told, one about a sheep that was lost and then was found, then about a coin that was lost and found. In both parables, the people rejoiced when they found what was lost. And now here's the climax of the chapter: The son was lost and now was found. So, of course, the father celebrates. He kills the fattened calf and has a feast. This is symbolic of how our heavenly Father rejoices when a sinner repents. That's why we can rejoice at the Father's love!

But not everyone at the party rejoiced. Listen to what the older son said, “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. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!” The son, selfishly, refused to celebrate his father's love for his brother.

And Jesus really drives home a point here. You see, the context of these parables is that the Pharisees, who thought of themselves as God's faithful children, were upset with Jesus because he “welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So, with these parables, Jesus tells them in no uncertain terms, “I welcome these people back. And I rejoice when they repent!” And now at the very end of this section of parables, he points it back to the Pharisees and asks them why they don't rejoice when a sinner who was lost becomes found.

So, what's our reaction gonna be to the love that the father has extravagantly shown to us? Well, I think that we can echo the Father's thoughts here and say, “We have to celebrate!” Celebrate that our Father loves us despite all of our shortcomings. And we have to celebrate every time we see that grace reach another person. We have to celebrate, even if it's someone that makes us a little bit uncomfortable with the way they look or dress or talk. We have to celebrate, because what was lost has been found.

You know, I'm afraid that all too often the point of this parable is missed. People read it and think, “Well, it's good that I've never squandered God's gifts like that.” If you've ever thought that way, even a little bit, you're exactly the kind of person that Jesus is talking to here. So come to you senses: Confess that you have sinned, and celebrate the Father's love for you and for your brother. Amen.