Posts that mention the parables of Jesus

Accepted

to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:6

I love the story of the prodigal son. It’s such a deep story with so many layers and applications. For just a moment, focus with me on the end of the story. Imagine being that young man thrust in the middle of the banquet. He was surrounded by family and friends who had known him since he was a kid, but they also knew his story. Everybody there knew what he had done, knew how he had disrespected his father, knew how he had lived his life. They’d heard all the gossip about the immorality, the prostitutes and the partying.

Put yourself in his shoes. How do you feel? Uncomfortable? Ashamed? Undeserving? Afraid of rejection? Would you feel accepted?

Ephesians 1:3-6 contain some of the most mind-blowing truths in Scripture, and it finishes up with God’s grace “by which He made us accepted in the Beloved”. Accepted means highly favored, honored, showered with blessing. Other translations render it “glorious grace he has poured out on us,” “lavished on us,” “freely bestowed.”

As the boy journeyed home, his only concern was how his father would receive him. His father welcomed him joyfully, his heart overflowing with love.

How does our Father receive us? The very same way. Everyone else at the banquet shared the father’s heart and rejoiced with him. Only those outside the banquet resented the grace the father showed the prodigal.

I need to focus on my Father, who accepts me, favors me, showers me with blessing. The people outside the banquet- He’ll deal with them in His wisdom just as the father in the story approached his older son.

When it’s someone else’s banquet, I need to make sure which side of the door I’m on- the rejoicing side or the pouting side.

For more, see Shameless

Shameless

By Paula

The key to authentic Christian faith is an honest assessment of who I am. I have to grasp that everything I have is a result of Christ’s work and not any merit of my own. However, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. There’s nothing I can say or do to make God love me any more. However, I can’t do anything to cause Him to stop loving me.

I love the story of the prodigal son, and the father’s unfailing, unconditional love for his son. Many times though, I’ve wondered what it must have been like to be that boy in that moment before he walked into the banquet his father threw in his honor. Was he uncomfortable? Did he feel like he was home, or was he ashamed to face the rest of his family and friends? I’m not sure I could have walked into the banquet.

God speaks to His enemies in Isaiah 65:13 “Behold, My servants shall rejoice, but you shall be ashamed.”

Joy is a confidence that is future focused. No matter what happens NOW, I know what will be. (Through faith, I know it.) Shame dwells on the past. Shame says, Because of what happened THEN, I know what I am. (Through experience or through someone else telling me, I know it.) Joy is to trust God. Shame is to trust man -whether self or someone else. Joy is empowering. Shame is debilitating. Shame comes from the outside, joy from within.

briefcase The key to authentic Christian faith is an honest assessment of who I am. I have to grasp that everything I have is a result of Christ’s work and not any merit of my own. However, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. I can’t say or do anything to make God love me any more. I can’t do anything to cause Him to stop loving me, either.

God speaks to His enemies in Isaiah 65:13 “Behold, My servants shall rejoice, but you shall be ashamed.”

Being one of God’s children cannot co-exist with being ashamed. He removed all my shame when the salvation transaction was completed. I’m the only one who can allow the shame back. When Satan delivers it to my doorstep, it may be labelled failure, or regret, or a label I’m not expecting. No matter what, I must not pick up the baggage.

Silence at the Beach

By Paula

: Image by tattoodjj- Back – catching up slowly via Flickr

One of the most difficult seasons we can go through is when God is silent. It shakes me up, even if it’s only a few days. While I was at the beach, I presumed that would be the perfect time to hear from God, but by the second day, He wasn’t speaking. I was reading the last chapters of Isaiah, 40-66, with all those great passages, and I thought more than once that God was really missing a great opportunity. Surely, He had something to say…

I got tremendously frustrated, and began to suspect that my trip was a mistake. Every old reflexive fear and insecurity roared back. Did I make God angry somehow? Is that why He wasn’t speaking? Or maybe I was right after all, and that deep intimate relationship wasn’t possible.

The day before I left, as I sat on the beach, mentally reviewing the week, I remembered the prodigal. That’s when I heard from God. “I don’t want to overwhelm you,” He said. “That banquet is yours, but I want you to enjoy it to its fullest. I don’t want you to question whether you belong or not. We’re going to take this slowly so that when you know, you know, and you never question your place with Me again.”

God knows my frame and remembers that I am dust. The silent days… Just because I’m not getting constant reinforcement from my Father doesn’t mean His heart has changed. Not at all. He was doing a work that only He could do, in His wise way. It was a lesson in trust. The parting words He gave me were, “Hold on tightly to the things you know in your head, and I will make sure your heart understands them in time.”

I’ll keep you posted on how that’s going.

Risking Grace

By Paula

Luke 15 gives us three of Jesus’ most famous parables, the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son. The three stories are strung together by Jesus to emphasize a common theme- the restoration of the lost. I had the privilege to teach these to my Sunday school kids and my Wednesday night kids recently, but I had a flash of insight on the stories.

Is Jesus talking about the lost finding salvation or Christians who stray and are restored? The answer is both. The sheep and the coin represent the lost who come to Christ for the first time. They didn’t purposely get lost- they just were, and in each case, there is a search and an honest desire to return the lost items to their place. We are born with a sin nature. We don’t have to intentionally do anything to end up lost, and we’re powerless to prevent it. But God found us and restored us to our place, in a relationship with Him that was lost when Adam sinned.

Now the boy is a different situation. He is a son and he willfully chooses to walk away from his father. The father doesn’t search for him. He watches and waits, ready to receive him. The boy comes to himself, in humility recognizes what a mess he’s in (literally and figuratively), has a change of heart and wants restoration. That’s what the father was waiting for! The fact that the boy came home is all the evidence the father needs to restore him, not just to the family, but the line about ‘put a ring on his finger’ indicates the boy was once again made a joint heir with his elder brother. It was as if he had never left.

When we as believers walk away from God, He doesn’t search for us, but waits for that genuine change of heart. When we drag ourselves back in humility and repentance, our gracious Father takes us in His arms before we can finish our speech.

Grace is a risky business, after all, what’s to stop the boy from leaving again? Not a thing. The father loves the son and yearns for that relationship, that communion so deeply that to him, it’s a risk worth taking. Sometimes we are hesitant to extend grace because of that risk. We’re afraid. When we see others with the eyes of Christ, we will love more, and fear less.

Is there a relationship in your life in which God is calling you to risk grace?