Lessons from the story of the prodigal son (Part II)

Galatians 4:1-4,7, “I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son… 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” 

Have you ever heard the story of this man who worked hard and saved a small fortune to be able to afford a cruise across the Atlantic with his wife? He paid for their tickets and with what was left, he bought a few provisions. Back then, it used to take several weeks to cross the Ocean and despite their frugality, their rations finished a few days before the end of the journey. They tried to resist for two days in their cabin; but it was too much and the man went out to look for the captain and beg for something to eat, explaining how they could not afford a meal, because they had invested all they had in the purchase of tickets. You can only imagine his shock when a stunned captain told him that they just had to go to the dining room and eat: accommodation, catering and entertainment were all included in the fares! Just imagine: for weeks, they had smelled the delicious food prepared in the kitchens; from their ‘room’, they had listened the Orchestra play; they had not participated in anything, thinking they were not entitled to whatsoever; and now, a day or two before the end of the adventure they had so dreamed about, they learn that in fact, all those hardship was unnecessary and even stupid… 

Well, in the story of the prodigal son, the elder brother reflects the image of this man. He lived in abundance, yet he had a mentality of a slave, of servant, instead of the mentality of a son. Didn’t he say himself: “'Look, these many years I have served you’. I've never disobeyed a command of yours. Yet you've never given me so much as a young goat so that I could celebrate with my friends”? His obedience was not natural and his service was a coercive one. Indeed, he had never disobeyed his father but its seems as though it was not a natural thing for him. That seems to be generating a certain moral tension in him. And his reply shows that during all those years, he was secretly wishing to throw a party with his friends but never dared to ask. Servants do not have the right to help themselves at will in their masters refrigerators or attics; but when the sons come, they take what they want without having to give account, because all those things have generally been purchased for them. 

Are SONS/DAUGHTERS expected to serve or not? Of course they are. Nonetheless, they don’t serve like workers who are expecting a reward or a salary; they don’t serve only when they are hungry or in order to satisfy a need: they serve by pure pleasure. Children quite often serve grudgingly; but true SONS and DAUGHTERS serve like heirs who are already taking care of their inheritance: “His father said to him: ‘my child, … everything I have is yours.” They are busy growing their parents’ businesses- which is also theirs – in order to perpetuate the family name. They have no need therefore, to enumerate the list of their achievements. 

Indeed, when you're SON or DAUGHTER of, you have nothing to prove and no prey to grasp: you just content yourself TO BE who you are. Hence, when Satan said: "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread", Jesus refused to comply. Not only had He no order to receive from the devil, but most importantly, He had nothing to prove: "If you don't know who I am, I do and that is enough. I know I can do it, I have no doubt about My powers but this is neither the place nor the time to perform miracles. 

Who are you the son or the daughter of? If you know who you are and if you are convinced of it, why are you fighting? Why are you restless? It is important to know who we are. Very often we find ourselves doing useless things because for a moment, we have totally forgotten or lost sight of our identity. 

Galatians 4:6, “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts…”

Thus, the Spirit of God only comes into our hearts because we are sons; yet, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom and we were called to freedom (2Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 5:13). Hence, SONS (and DAUGHTERS) are free and are aware of it. They know they can freely enjoy EVERYTHING, but they do not use this freedom as an opportunity to the flesh (Galatians 4:19). They naturally know the boundaries and their parents can trust them. They don’t need to be constantly reminded not to do this or that. Whereas one must always be behind a child if one wants to avoid monumental blunders. A SON thinks and says: "I can kill a fattened calf every day if I wish; I can invite friends home every weekend; I can even wear my 'Sunday clothes' every day if I want: EVERYTHING is mine and ALL IS LAWFUL TO ME but, I won't do it, because it is not useful. It will not bring me anything.’’ 

‘‘Yet you've never given me so much as a young goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. But this son of yours spent your money on prostitutes, and when he came back, you killed the fattened calf for him!' True SONS and DAUGHTERS know that their destiny is different from their brothers and that they don’t necessarily need the same things, TO BE or TO BECOME. They know that their parents love them and that none of their siblings can ‘steal’ away from them, the love that is due to them. So, they don’t envy and they are not jealous. On the contrary, kids always make comparisons: “Huuh, you’ve given him a bigger piece than mine! ” 

A SON/DAUGHTER would have understood that the little brother had gone through hell and that all his sufferings, as well as those of his parents, were about to end, and it would have been sufficient to gladden his heart: “I praise You O my God, because You are Great. You Alone could do such a wonder in my brother’s life. I thank You because Daddy is smiling again; thank You because once more, there is joy in this house. Lord, let him feel loved and enough at ease to never wish to go back. Daddy is not the only one who has found his son back, I have also have my brother back.” 

 

Finally, the story of the prodigal son is a call to maturity. And if you put these lessons together with what I shared on divine provision and on the manner of prayer of Jesus, by God’s grace, you will tap into something that will help your faith take gigantic leaps. You will discover how to live without lack and without stress. 

I repeat: “…The heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son… 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” So: slave? Under guardianship or owner/master? The ball is in your court.

God bless you and help you become a true son or daughter of His. 

Lessons from the story of the prodigal son

“…"A man had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So the father divided his property between them. A few days later, the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country. There he wasted his possessions on wild living. After he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the husks the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. "Then he came to his senses and said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more food than they can eat, and here I am starving to death! I will get up, go to my father, and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and you. I don't deserve to be called your son anymore. Treat me like one of your hired men."' "So he got up and went to his father. While he was still far away, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him affectionately. Then his son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and you. I don't deserve to be called your son anymore.' But the father said to his servants, 'Hurry! Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let's eat and celebrate! For my son was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and has been found.' And they began to celebrate. "Now his older son was in the field. As he was coming back to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called to one of the servants and asked what was happening. The servant told him, 'Your brother has come home, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he got him back safely.' "Then the older son became angry and wouldn't go into the house. So his father came out and began to plead with him. 29 But he answered his father, "Listen! All these years I've worked like a slave for you (many versions instead have: 'Look, these many years I have served you’). I've never disobeyed a command of yours. Yet you've never given me so much as a young goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But this son of yours spent your money on prostitutes, and when he came back, you killed the fattened calf for him!' 31 "His father said to him, 'My child, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and has been found.'" (Luke 15:11-32, ISV) 

This story has been widely spread within Christian and non-Christian circles and I even dare believe that I would not be risking a lot in asserting that most preachers have at some point or another preached, exhorted or taught on this passage. I wouldn’t like to repeat some of the obvious comments that we all have heard over the years, but would rather like us to ask ourselves a few rather disturbing questions, in order to help us look deep inside of us, before making my points of the day. 

If you are already a parent, just imagine that the precious child for whom you have sacrificed a lot things so as to ensure that they may have a bright future and whom you sent to the best educational institutions, the one who regularly attended Sunday school, becomes wild: drugs, thefts, early pregnancies, murders, prison, prostitution etc. Think that despite all your efforts and prayers, your child refuses to come back to reason and leaves the house. For months or years, you have no news on her/his whereabouts at all and then, one day, the doorbell rings and here she/he is, in a deplorable state, crying and begging for forgiveness: what will you do? Are you capable of reacting like the father of the prodigal son in our passage? 

Are you are not a parent as yet? Well, you can always imagine what you would do, if you were one. If not, imagine that you are the brother or the sister of the child that I have just described. You come back from school and you find that your parents have taken a week off to spend time with ‘the returning one’, something they have never done for you. You go to the kitchen and you see that they have gone out of their way to prepare all the dishes that ‘the returning one’ has always liked while you can’t even remember the last time your mother served your favourite dessert. Then you hear some music coming out of the room of ‘the returning one’; you go to have a look, and this is what you see: a brand new TV in a corner and the latest iPad on his/her table while you have been asking your father to change your old laptop for the last 6 months! What are you going to do? Deep down inside, how are you going to feel? Are you capable of wholeheartedly taking part in the celebration and adding your own gifts without ‘faking’ your joy? 

Whatever your answers are, just be honest with yourself and God - find out why you think you would behave like that. 

But, let’s come down to the heart of this article. The story of the prodigal son is evidently an apology for forgiveness and restoration, two things that should actually go beyond the context of filial relationship; but it is mostly in my view, an invitation to behave like the SONS (or DAUGHTERS) and not like CHILDREN.

 

Both boys had two fundamental problems: immaturity and a slave mentality. 

Galatians 5:17ff, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do… 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience… 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” 

1Corinthians 3:1, “… I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.” 

If you give a child a kilogram of sweets, he will just want to eat them all as soon as it’s practicable. Watch a kid who is handed a glass of juice; If not stopped, then he will drink it at one gulp, and sometimes without even breathing. 

Children do not know how to wait. Here, the younger of the two brothers was too eager to ‘freely’ enjoy his inheritance. Then, when his adventure went all wrong, he decided to go back home. But he did not go back because he had realised that his father was missing him, neither did he even think that his father may never have had a good night’s sleep since he had left. NO! This is even proof that he did not know his father. He had never really spent time with him ; he hadn’t taken the time to understand him, to love him, to know what could please him. His father was just a purse, a ‘sponsor’ or a bank.

However, a worthy SON or DAUGHTER reflects the character of his/her parents. He/she is their image, their footprint, and those who have seen him/her, have ‘seen’ his/her father or mother. ‘‘But I say, walk by the Spirit…” (Galatians 5:16): the sons of God walk by the Spirit of God, their Father; likewise, worthy sons/daughters also walk by the spirit of their earthly parents. 

Anyway, he went back home, and only returned because he was hungry: the motive behind his decision was the desires of the flesh. He was ready to be hired by his father so that he would hunger no more; and by the way, even when he found himself keeping the pigs, he only did so because he was in need, he was hungry. The guy was only working when compelled and forced to so-do. Say flesh and you say carnal, and if you say carnal, you say infant.

To be continued...

About paying for Christian conferences (II)

Discrimination and Elitism
 

Bishops and pastors are fathers in their churches and ministries. In Western Africa, church members usually address their leaders as ‘Papa’ or ‘Mama’, and it is in line with the Holy Scriptures. Indeed, speaking to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul tells them: ‘‘For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.’’ (1Corinthians 4:15) 

Now, what loving and worthy father would discriminate among his children? What responsible father would tell them: ‘‘Kids, God has just given me some powerful revelations about marriage, debts cancelling and success but, I won’t talk about it here at home. I promise to tell you all about it for $20 at Hotel A, between the 10^th and the 15^th of this month. You know I love you and I really want you to succeed, don’t you? You really need to hear these revelations. Don’t miss it, be there. After all, what is $20 compared to your salvation?’’ 

And this is unfortunately what is happening nowadays with these conferences. They are very discriminating. Let’s go back to the example above: That man of God, that father, has a congregation of 15.000 to 20.000 members whose vast majority cannot afford to go on holiday. They have some daily or hourly paid jobs and any day-off pits the wallet very hard. There are not many of them who can attend such conferences when they take place in another State in the US, and even fewer can afford the luxury of a USA – South Africa trip. For those who will eventually travel, only the ‘elect’ who can make the additional sacrifice of staying longer, will have the ‘grace’ to sit at the “Man of God’s” table, eat with him, laugh with him, share their worries, pray with him and who knows, be rewarded of extra revelations that were hidden to others. Do you see how far the selection can go? And when you know that in these mega-churches, some members spend years without even being able to say hello to their pastor, you can imagine how they feel –these children – when they realize that once again, they won’t be granted the privilege to come close to him because they are guilty to be poor and not being able to pay… 

Anyway, as I was saying earlier, this is a very abusive and cruel discrimination: it is discriminating by money. The richer you are, the more you get all the attention. Who with a true father’s heart, will treat his own children this way? 

This elitism is totally different from that of Jesus. The Master used to spot among His disciples, those who were more spiritually advanced, those who were more likely to understand what He was doing, those to whom the torch would be handed down first after His departure and He would invest Himself in them. He would give them the meaning of parables, would allow them to witness firsthand some of the miracles and key events of His life (resurrection of Jairus’ daughter, transfiguration, Gethsemane…) However, never, never ever did they have to pay for the right for that intimacy. If paying had been mandatory, anyone could have done it and precious pearls would have fallen in the midst of swines. 

How different things are today! The financial bar is increasingly higher and only those who can pay are entitled to the "grace." It doesn’t matter whether they are Christians or not, mature or not. Do you have problems? Do you want a breakthrough? Do you want a powerful move of God in your life? Give…I mean…Pay! Because God’s favours are bought nowadays. They all have a price. There is nothing for nothing and money answers all… It seems as though God had become so materialistic that He is no longer capable of doing anything without us giving Him money first. Some bibles no longer have “the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force,” but “the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the rich takes it by force.” They no longer read, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God,” they read: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a poor person to enter the kingdom of God.” The Lord is not in this trade fair elitism. 

“When they came to Jerusalem, he went into the temple and began to throw out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple. He overturned the moneychangers' tables and the chairs of those who sold doves. He wouldn't even let anyone carry a vessel through the temple. Then he began to teach them, saying, "It is written, is it not, 'My house is to be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have turned it into a hideout for bandits!"” (Mark 11:15-17, ISV) 

The House of God has ceased to be a House of prayer to become a trading place. And I am not referring to those who sell a few treats at the end of the service but, to all those who are selling the Word of God in the Temple: Jesus only rebuked the dealers. In those days, the pilgrims who lived far away from Jerusalem and who could not carry their tithes along or the animals they wished to sacrifice, would go to the Temple to buy what they needed there; but the moneychangers and the merchants would take advantage of them and use usurer rates. A wonderful business, even for the scribes and the Pharisees. 

I know that many justify themselves by saying that these fees are only collected to cover the costs of logistics, the rental of the hall and the speakers’ fees. But when God sends, He also provides: if there are no means to support these charges, why take people into such an adventure? 

“In every way I showed you that by working hard like this we should help the weak and remember the words that the Lord Jesus himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"” (Acts 20:35, ISV) 

In fact, I am not at all against doing Christian programs in hotels or any other location which would be more convenient to a certain social group that must also hear the Gospel. However, I do think the entrance should be free. The Church that wants to start this form of evangelization has to budget for it. The members who are well-off and all those who have the gift of liberality can take care of that but, participants should never pay an entry fee. NEVER. They should be free to respond to what they have received, as they feel. If the meal was good, guests will eagerly come to enquire when they can have some more. Some might even want to give their financial support; but even if that was not the case, it shouldn’t stop us from pursuing the vision…if it was really from God. 

The Church is not out there to make money. It is out there to be the Lord’s arms, feet, heart and mouth and to continue providing a solution to all sorts of human misery, in His Spirit.

The Church is not a Firm managed by a C.E.O; it is a spiritual venture with Christ Jesus at its Head. 

 

What do we have that we have not received (from God)? And when we received it, did we pay for it? Let us show the world that the love of God has really been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given to us and that there is more happiness in giving than in receiving! 

God bless you!

About paying for Christian conferences (I)

 

For years I attended or participated in the organization of such programs without ever finding anything wrong with them, until one day… I was watching the TV and saw the advertisement for a Conference that was about to take place in South Africa under the label of a big American Christian ministry. The advert was praising the country, the hotels, the luxurious environment in which the program was going to take place etc. It was supposed to last 4 days but, those who wanted to have the privilege to personally meet the ‘‘Man of God’’, were encouraged to stay on for a few more days in the hotel and enjoy unique moments of impartation! Then, something suddenly happened inside of me and scales fell off my eyes. I said to myself: “No! This is NOT biblical. It doesn't have much to do with the Spirit of Christ.”

 

The gratuity of the Gospel

“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without payment you have received; without payment you are to give.” (Matt. 10:8, ISV)

“What, then, is my reward? It's to be able to preach the gospel free of charge, and so never resort to using my rights in the gospel.” (1Corinthians 9:18, ISV)

“Did I commit a sin when I humbled myself by proclaiming to you the gospel of God free of charge, so that you could be exalted?” (2Corinthians 11:7, ISV)

What is the most common reason sighted when such programs are organized? The salvation of souls. Our love for those who perish is so gripping that we go to places that are less 'strange' to them, since they can't or don't want to come to our churches. It therefore appears that we organize these seminars out of love, in order to make the Gospel available to a fringe of the population who would not listen to it otherwise. If this is true, if that is really our purpose, then why ask them to pay? Beyond the incongruity that represents selling Jesus to someone who is not keen on Him at all, it is same as though I cook this local dish very well and want my neighbours or colleagues to discover it. But instead of inviting them to relish it for free, after preparing it, I ask them to pay the right to be seated at my table. What love!

For centuries, Missionary Organizations that really cared about the salvation of "Pagans", sent to them, men and women who were sponsored by their Mother-Church. These servants of God did not go to those that they had come to save saying: "I have your miracle and your salvation in my pocket, but pay first!"

Out of love, people invested their money in the edition and printing of leaflets and bibles (Gideon) that were freely given out worldwide afterwards. Some of us even met the Lord through this. That is what I call evangelizing. When hungry crowds came to listen to Jesus, He would say to His disciples : You yourselves give them something to eat. He never asked the crowds to bring their entry fee along: His team was supposed to take care of all the material and logistic needs. The people only had one thing to do: sit at the Master’s feet and receive the Words of Eternal Life.

We are now so far away from the values of the Gospel and we wonder why people have become so resistant and so hostile to our invitations. Our motives seem (and often are) so mercantile that for the same price, they would rather pay to listen to motivational speakers.

To be continued…