Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
Make me like one of your hired servants.”’ “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’
“But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.
But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”
Luke 15:11-32
Taking a long honest look at ourselves is one of the hardest things for us to do. Admitting that I need help, something is wrong in my life is very difficult. Why is that so difficult? Because!
We are trained for self-protection and self-preservation – not self-evaluation. Not only that, but society is also helping promote the idea that nothing is wrong with self, that whatever it is that affects you is someone else’s fault. You are not the best you because someone else has a problem with you. The scripture we just read brings attention to two individuals who need to look at themselves. In this story we just read shows us what happens when we stop placing blame for our failings on others and take a very close look at ourselves.
Normally this passage is used to tell the unsaved how God still loves them regardless of how much sin they have been in. That truth is found in these sections of verses, and it is beautiful. But there is another truth that can be added to that first truth. That we, so-called believers can be just as bad as the worldly folks in our judgements and lack of forgiveness.
While one brother came to himself and made improvements, the other brother maintained his righteous pride and continued to live in his misery. The simple truth is this: making the most of our lives comes from an honest look at our true condition.
In short, look at yourself.
The late Michael Jackson called attention to self-examination with his song “Man in the Mirror.”
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could've been any clearer
If they wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change
This is what the younger son did when life hit rock bottom. In the beginning the problem was his father and his home. But realized that he was the problem, and the solution to that problem was to go back to where it really was a good place.
Although Mr. Jackson had a grand idea about changing the world one person at a time, the truth is that will not be possible, because the Bible tells us that the world is going to get worse. But the basic idea is that you and I can change the small world around us, meaning that the people you start to associate with after re-evaluating yourself will be a much better group of folks.
But that can only happen once we stop lying to ourselves about our condition, being separated from God.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
1 John 1:8-10
Let’s not deceive ourselves into believing that we are this or that, and we are able to do this or that, or that we can go it alone. When you think you can do it all by yourself, and you begin to think that God was not there helping you along, look at yourself. The younger brother in the story did, and he realized that the grass was not greener on the other side.
1. The wrong view by the younger brother.
a. He thought that the problem was with his home and parents.
i. Many assume that the Christian life is boring.
ii. Many assume that the Christian life is too confining.
iii. Many assume that the world has lots more to offer.
iv. The younger brother believed these things, but his view of the problem was wrong.
b. His look into the distance was faulty. The far country looked great from a distance.
c. He assumed that the people over there had the answers to life and that he also knew what was best. He soon discovered that was not true. What had looked and sounded good from a distance became garbage up close. He also learned that those that he thought were good friends were only there for the good times to be had.
d. Do you have the correct view? Even as a Christian, do you feel that there is more of the world that you can bring in? Or do you see that doing things Jesus’ way brings a better life for you? Look at yourself.
2. A life changing decision by the younger brother
a. He made three decisions.
i. He decided that working with pigs was a terrible way of life. Something else had to be better.
ii. He took the first step to correct the situation (v. 18 “I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,”).
iii. He decided that the bad things of a good life are better than the best things of a bad life.
b. After making an honest appraisal of himself and his situation he knew it was time for him to act (v. 20). “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.”
i. What an unexpected reception.
ii. The father was ever watching for this wayward son, hoping, and praying that he was ok and would return home.
iii. The father didn’t wait for the son to come into the house with his tail between his legs; no, he ran out to meet the son and showed him how much he loved him.
iv. This is a picture of God the Father, ever waiting for you to turn around and come back to Him.
c. We see in verse 20-24 the positive results of his decision. He found that a good life comes from a look within oneself and put forth the effort to make a change.
3. The wrong view by the elder brother.
a. He was as miserable in self-righteousness as his younger brother was in his sinful lifestyle. The elder brother could represent a lot of people in church today. He had a more difficult time facing his needs than his younger brother had facing his. Although it isn’t written about the elder brother doing anything crazy: like living a riotous life or working in a pigpen. But his view was distorted, instead of seeing someone had made mistakes and forgiving them, he chose to remind his father of all the younger brother’s mistakes. (tell story of Linda).
b. The elder brother’s problem was two-fold.
i. A person cannot love others and still act the way he did in verse 28. “But he was angry and would not go in. “Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.”
ii. We can see in verse 29 that he had too much self-love. Concerned only about himself. “So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.”
c. He assumed that the father should not love and welcome home his wayward brother. But we need to know that genuine love never shoots its wounded.
d. I know this all too well because I was that brother who hated it when one of my siblings tried to come back from a riotous life. (Tell story of Linda)
e. The greater tragedy of this story is the elder brother’s failure to take a closer look at himself. He missed the celebration because of his attitude. And the worst part is that he did not even take pleasure in the fact that his father was happy.
i. Is your attitude causing you to miss the celebration of a wayward church member coming back to Christ?
Conclusion:
1. It is possible to serve God year after year and still have a heart that is far from him. Look at yourself to see if you are serving God out of duty, appearance, or habit instead of serving Him with joy, gratitude, and love.
2. When we look at ourselves and realize that apart from Jesus, we can do nothing, all of heaven celebrates.
a. Are you much like the younger brother, believing that there is something better than what Jesus offers you?
b. Do you need to hit rock bottom before you realize your need for Jesus?
c. Or are you much like the elder brother, resentful of those around you who have come back for their wayward ways?
d. Like the elder brother, are you going to miss the celebration that the Father throws for the return of any of His children?
3. Today take a close look at yourself and make an honest appraisal of your life and make the necessary changes. Accept God’s grace today so that you do not miss out on the celebration.
a. I don’t know about you, but when that time comes for me to go to heaven, I want to get caught up in the rapture, where I meet Jesus in the clouds. I don’t want to be down here or standing before the judgement seat of God trying to explain that I would have stopped all that goofing around and all that other stuff if it had not been for my mother, my wife, if it had not been for somebody.
4. Don’t be like the elder brother getting lost in your spiritual labors, wallowing in your misery and miss the miracles that God performs around you, and even for you.
5. Don’t miss the blessing of celebration with the Father.
Look at yourself.
