By Pastor Alex Ruelo
To my friend who left the faith. Do you have friends who used to go to church but are not here anymore? This message is not just for them but for us as well. Do you know the story of the Prodigal Son? Before that, there is also the Parable of the Lost Coin and the Lost Sheep. Luke 15:1-2 explains why Jesus told the story of the three parables. It says, “Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!” Sometimes, man blames God for the bad things that happen to them even if it is really their fault. That is why they do not go to church and leave the faith. But they blame God for that too.
Sometimes we feel more important than the rest. We think we are more entitled than the person beside us. There is a reason why Jesus taught these parables hand in hand.
Parable of the Lost Sheep
“In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”
Luke 15:7
In business, when you lose 1%, you lose money. When you are riding a bus and one is lacking, will you wait? But not with Jesus. With Him, that one is more important than the 99.
Parable of the Lost Coin
“In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
Luke 15:10
We are talking about repentance here. That one who was lost is very important to God. He is happy in heaven when even one lost person goes back to the faith.
God actively seeks out lost souls. He is not passive. Romans 5:8 says, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” He will go through all the trouble to find you. While you are wallowing in your sin, God gave you His best and only Son.
God is thrilled and overjoyed even when just one soul is saved. 1 John 3:1 says, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.” Whenever you feel that you are useless, dirty and laden with so many sins, remember how God showed His love to you by dying on the cross. He is willing to leave everything for you to be saved.
Repentance is vital. When you repent, you change your mind. In the Parable of the Lost Son, we saw how the younger son repented when he had nothing already. It does not matter where the change of mind came from. What’s important to God is that you are sorry for your sins and repented.
The story of the Prodigal Son is a very powerful parable. But most of the time, we only always take note of the good father and the bad younger son. We miss the story of the older brother. When he got home and saw that there was a celebration going on, he asked what was going on. He asked the servants and they told him that his younger brother had returned and that they were having a party on his behalf. He was approached by his father who asked him to come and join them too. The father in the story represents God. The older brother represents the pharisees. Just like the latter, they could not understand why Jesus would be dining with the sinners and tax collectors. Who are you in the story? Are you the younger brother, who repents no matter what? Or the older brother who could not believe that God would associate with sinners?
Actually, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is that of amazing grace. God showed how much He loves all of us. Even the sinners. Be the repentant younger son. No matter what the reason is, be sorry for your sins and go back to your Savior. There is nothing you can do to make Him turn His back on you.