He was lost and is found

“For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. So they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:24)

 

‘The parable of the prodigal son’ said by Jesus is well known to people. If not the person concerned, nobody would fathom well about the feelings of parents who love their own children. The most noble one among people’s loves is the love that parents do for their own children. Some people spend time being unaware well of parents’ love, during almost their entire lives. Even if they realize later, their parents might had departed this world around already before then. The second son in the story had left his father afar and lived a dissipated life in foreign land, and become a beggar, and he became nohow to live anymore. The father welcomed without scolding the son who returned the home in failure at last.

 

This father had two sons. The eldest son lived a steady life at home listening to his father well. But the second son demanded to share his property to father, and he left the house where his parents were and went to a far country. The father seems to be a person with fine character. Even though he could have severely managed on the second son, it isn’t shown in the Bible the recorded that the father had done so. Presumably, the father would had said whatever even a little, being concerned about his son. Nevertheless, the father wouldn’t have reproach the son extremely, while speaking like this “Go away right now, you bad guy.” That is because of parents’ heart loving their children. Parents who cannot give better things to their beloved children live always like a sinner with sorry mind.

The love God the father of spirit gives is much bigger, not to be possible comparison, to the love by the parents of the flesh. The Lord God has given Himself entirely to man. Jesus Christ is the Son of God as the Holy Trinity God. He came down to the world in person and gave His own life for the salvation of men. Most people who live in a hurry only to eat and wear for the body don’t pay little attention to such as God’s grace or salvation. And yet, when they have experience of a hopeless situation someday in their life, they will regret then and open even a little bit the spiritual eyes. It’s too foolish and heartbroken thing that people do not realize for oneself before they become poor beggars.

Wealth keeps people no hungry, makes splendid, and makes them reign over other people. The second son left his father’s side because he wanted to live like that. But he shortly wasted all his possessions in vain. To make matters worse, it had a poor harvest in that region, so it was get difficult to find a place to work, and he couldn’t solve the problem of livelihood anywhere. So, he worked raising hogs of someone else’s in the end. Even he tried to fill his stomach with the ratham berries that the pig eat, it was hard to eat even that. Only then did he think of the house where his father was. “How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!”

We can feel fully how evil and foolish man is by looking into the inner of oneself frankly. When everything is comfortable and good, we don’t feel precious the thing oneself has, but when business goes bankrupt, die our parents, lose one’s health, and suffer family breakdown, regret by looking back the lost past with loneliness and inconvenience. It is a person’s chronic temperament to try to rely on God, only when with a process of difficult experience. But God also shows the way for salvation, even under the negative situations of human suffering, sadness, and wrongdoing. What would be the reason why Jesus told us the parable of the prodigal son? It is in order to teach us the Lord, who blesses even to those who wander immaturely. Jesus came to the world to find the lost sheep. And people are the sheep who need Christ’s salvation.

The son who returned confessed that he had sinned against God and his father. And he asked father to receive himself as one of the servants. A person who pray to God should confess sincerely that he is sinner. Also, if anybody does not receive Jesus’ salvation, he cannot be recognized as a child of God.

 

Despite the disappointment, the father welcomed his son back and gave a big feast for him. The father rejoiced greatly, saying that he had been lost son but re-acquired. That is the heart of parents who care for their children, and the image of the Lord who loves us. Believe in Jesus means to realize Jesus’ love and become a true person of life. Try hard to live as person who is reborn, a person who has a new soul in the Holy Spirit.

 

(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on May 8th 2022)