February 8, 2023: A Father With Two Sons

“Then Jesus said, “Once there was a father with two sons.” (Luke 15:11, TPT)

It is a terrible thing to have a bad heart physically. But it is even worse to have one spiritually. In Luke 15, we find a Father that has two sons. The pain of the passage is that both sons have bad hearts spiritually. One son takes his share of the Father’s inheritance, runs off, and squanders it all. His bad heart is evident. The other son stays at home doing all the Father asks, working for his Father, and more. Everyone does not see that he has a bad heart too.

Neither son has a right heart toward the Father. The younger son, who is far away, has a heart that is also far from the Father. But the older son’s heart is just as far away, but he lives at home with the Father. The younger son has wrong behavior and wrong heart. The older son has the right behavior but a wrong heart. And since God looks at the heart, these boys are tragically in spiritual trouble.

But the younger son comes to his senses! He has a heart change and desires to return his heart to the Father. The Father, upon seeing his son runs to him, hugs him, kisses him, clothes him, and receives him. THE PARTY BEGINS! The older son hearing of his young brother’s change of heart and nearness to the Father is angry. Though at home, his heart is far from Father’s. 

Which son are you? What a tragedy to be in church but have your heart far from the Father. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.