The elder brother

The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 22 has a second act that should get the attention of we church people. You will recall that when the prodigal returned and was greeted with compassion and celebration by his father that the elder son angrily refused to join in the celebration.

The reason was that he didn’t think his brother deserved to be forgiven and re-instated as a son in the household. Their father plead with him to join the celebration.

There is a great danger that we church people will be like the elder brother. We have never left home, we do the work of the Father, and we consider ourselves to be good children. The problem is that there is nothing of the compassion for the lost that we see in our Heavenly Father.

Our Heavenly Father loves lost people so much that he pictures himself as the Good Shepherd, he woman seeking the lost coin, and the compassionate Father to the prodigal. As his children, we must share in that compassion for the lost. Otherwise, we are like the elder brother – doing all the right things, but without the compassion for lost people that characterizes our Father. The danger is that we can be lost in the church.

The encouraging and challenging word here is that the Father pleads with elder sons to join in the celebration – to share in his concern for lost people, and in his joy when the lost are found.