Living like your Restored | Andy Elmes | 19th June 2022
Today, Father’s Day, Pastor Andy speaks about the Parable of the Lost Son or as it is known, the Parable of The Prodigal Son. The Parables of Jesus are not like Proverbs. Proverbs are statements of wisdom, but parables are simple stories which illustrate profound truths. If we not only hear but listen with our hearts we will receive wisdom and learn about God in our lives. Luke 15 contains three parables (lost sheep, lost coin and lost son). Jesus begins speaking about a lost sheep, then uses a lost coin to get the same story across and ends up talking about a father and his sons. In all of these stories, God was showing His heart not just for lost things but lost people, lost hearts.
The Prodigal Son story continues with the father running towards his son. He loves him, he brings a cloak, a ring, and sandals for his feet and brings him back to his house for a celebration, and a fatted calf is killed. The father restores him and repositions him as a son, as someone who belongs in his kingdom. But did the repentant son realise exactly what had happened at that moment? The parable ends with the celebration. After this we wonder how did the prodigal think. Did he walk around his father’s kingdom the next day with his head held high or with shame still in his eyes? If he was confused about his father's heart or what his father had done; although he was now restored to the kingdom, he could still walk around as a slave perhaps. He could have walked around thinking his father would change his mind the next day, feeling a trespasser rather than a son, even though he was fully repositioned and restored.
Maybe when we bring this into our world, we can have the same confusion – if we have returned to God yet are still living like we are estranged. The message today is that God would say this to all believers. If we are saved, we have got to know that what The Father has done is complete. We are no longer a prodigal, God knows us as righteous, redeemed and restored.
