MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(REVISED: 2017)
(This sermon is largely my adaptation of an excellent sermon by Dennis Slaughter, former Minister of Valley View Christian Church, Dallas, TX.)
TEXT: Luke 15:11-31
Well, today is Father’s Day, as you have been reminded several times already. So once again, “Happy Father’s Day” to all you dads who are here.
ILL. The Telephone Co. tells us that Father’s Day is not the most popular day for long distance calls. Mother’s Day wins that prize hands down. Father’s Day doesn’t even come second. Christmas does. Father’s Day come third, & a distant third at that.
But Father’s Day is their greatest moneymaker because on this day more collect calls are made than on any other day of the year. So Happy Father’s Day!
In church, I guess, it’s almost the same way. Mother’s Day is a big day. Lots of people come. On Father’s Day the crowds are smaller. On Mother’s Day preachers usually preach wonderful sermons about mothers & their sacrifices & all they have done for their kids. And everybody leaves with a warm fuzzy feeling.
ILL. But on Father’s Day some preachers tend to unload on dads about not fulfilling their responsibilities. In fact, one dad went to church on Father’s Day & when he left the service said, “Wow, if this is Father’s Day, then the first day of duck season ought to be called ‘Duck’s Day.’” Think about it.
Well, that’s not my intention this morning. I don’t want to make this a bad day for dads. So let’s talk about the positive aspects of fatherhood. And to do that, I call your attention to the familiar story of the prodigal son, & especially to the father of the prodigal son.
He’s a good father. In fact, he’s a perfect father, because as Jesus tells the story, he is picturing our Father who is in heaven.
PROP. So let’s notice 4 characteristics of this father as Jesus tells us about Him. Turn with me now in your Bibles to Luke 15:11-31.
I. HE PROVIDED FOR THE BASIC NEEDS OF HIS FAMILY
First of all, “He provided for the basic needs of his family.” The father in the story of the prodigal son was fairly well to do. He had an estate. He had an inheritance for his son that was large enough so that his son could enjoy an extravagant lifestyle for a period of time.
We have always recognized, especially on Father’s Day, that part of a father's job is to provide for his family – to make sure there is food & shelter & clothing.
Paul writes in 1 Timothy 5:8, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, & especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith & is worse than an unbeliever.” So it is our job, as fathers, to provide.
ILL. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture conducts a yearly survey to determine the cost of living. In it they study the spending of 5,000 families to find out how much it costs to raise children in this country. Their findings are interesting.
The latest figures (for 2015) state that if you’re a middle income family making between $60,000 & $107,000 a year & raising 2 children, it costs you about $12,980 per child per year. And as they get older, it gets more expensive. By the time your child is a teenager, he or she will be costing you over $14,000 per year.
Now add that up, & by the time a child reaches 18, & allowing for inflation, the USDA says that you will have spent $284,570 per child, & that doesn’t include college. If they go on to college you will have spent nearly $400,000 on that child. And if you have 2 children, it will be almost double that amount.
That’s a lot of money. No wonder it is said, “Dad’s the guy who has a wallet full of pictures where there used to be money.” ("Expenditures on Children by Families, 2015" by USDA)
SUM. So if you’re critical of your dad because you thought he didn’t provide enough for you; or you thought you didn’t have all the opportunities other kids had; or you thought you didn’t have the clothes you wanted, or you didn’t go to all the places you wanted to go, you may want to pause this Father’s Day & say, “Thanks, Dad. Thanks for being a good provider.”
II. WAS GENEROUS BEYOND WHAT COULD REASONABLY BE EXPECTED
Secondly, this father “Was generous beyond what could reasonably be expected.” Listen to vs’s 11 & 12. “Jesus continued, ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.”
Now if you put that into modern language, it would go something like this. Here’s a boy who comes to his dad & says, “Dad, I’ve calculated it all out & I figure that when you die I will inherit about $300,000. Well, I want my share now. I don’t want to wait until you die.”
And to our great surprise, the father gives it to him. That’s exceeding generosity. And we would tend to question his wisdom. But I think the father probably knew some things that you & I don’t know.
He knew that his son was going to the far country anyway. He knew there were lessons his son had to learn on his own. So he gave him his inheritance.
Has your dad been generous to you? Has he provided food & clothing & shelter for you? Is he generous with his time? Does he talk with you?
ILL. Erma Bombeck wrote this about her dad: “My Daddy just didn’t know how to show love. It was Mom who held the family together. He just went to work every day & when he came home she had a list of sins we’d committed, & he would give us what-for about them.
I broke my leg once on a swing set. It was Mom who held me in her arms all the way to the hospital. Dad pulled the car right up to the emergency door & when they asked him to move it because the space was reserved for emergency vehicles, he shouted, “What do you think this is, a tour bus?”
Mom carried me in while Dad parked the car. It seems all my life Dad was parking the car someplace, coming in wet & half-frozen.
Dad was always sort of out of place. At birthday parties he just busied himself blowing up balloons, setting up tables & running errands. But it was Mom who carried the cake with the candles on it for me to blow out.
I remember when Mom told him to teach me how to ride a bicycle. I told him not to let go, but he said it was time. So I fell, & Mom ran to pick me up. But he waved her off. I was so mad that I showed him. I got right back on that bike & rode it by myself. He didn’t even feel embarrassed. He just smiled.
When I went off to college he was fiddling with the luggage & the boxes. It was Mom who sat down & said that everything would be all right. She did all the writing. He just sent checks & a little note about how great his lawn looked now that I wasn’t playing football on it. . . .
When I got married it was Mom who got choked up & cried, & Dad just blew his nose loudly & left the room.
All my life he said, “What are you doing? What time are you going to be home? Do you have gas in the car? Who’s going to be there? No, you can’t go.” Not Mom, she just loved me.
But Daddy, he didn’t seem to know how to show love – unless, is it possible, that he was showing it all along, & I just didn’t recognize it?
SUM. Well, has your dad been generous to you? Then say to him, “Thanks, Dad."
III. HE GAVE HIS SONS SPACE WHEN IT WAS APPROPRIATE
Thirdly, this dad “Gave his sons space when it was appropriate.” He gave each of them space to be his own person. “Not long after that,” it says in vs. 13, “the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country & there squandered his wealth in wild living.”
One of the hardest things to do is to turn your children loose. Remember the first day of school when you walked them to the bus stop & watched them get on? Remember when they went to camp for the first time & were gone all week?
Remember when they drove without you in the car with them for the very first time? Remember when they went away to college? Remember when you walked your daughter down the aisle & gave her to a man you knew was not good enough for her? Those are tough times in parenting.
ILL. Gary Ezzo says that there are 4 stages in parenting.
1. The first stage is “Discipline” - from birth to age 5. This is when you set rules & draw the guidelines & say, “This is right & this is wrong. This is good & this is bad.” And if you don’t do that in the first 5 years you probably won’t be able to do it at all.
2. The second stage is “Training” – ages 6-12. Training time is when you’re setting the example. You become the role model. You show them how to dress themselves, to tie their shoes, & cut their meat & so on. It’s a training time when you’re actually modeling for them, & they’re watching you.
3. The third stage is “Coaching” – ages 13-19. During this phase the child is actually in the game & you’re the coach. You’re not playing the game for them, they’re playing it themselves. You may call time out. You may huddle up, but you’re the coach & they’re the players.
4. The last stage, the fourth stage, is “Friendship” – from sometime around 20 throughout the rest of your life you are good friends. You walk together, & talk together, & laugh together. You have turned them loose to become the person God created them to be.
SUM. So if you had a father, who was wise enough to turn you loose & let you become the person God created you to be, then say, “Thanks, Dad,” today.
IV. HE WAS WILLING TO FORGIVE A SERIOUS OFFENSE & MOVE ON
Fourthly, this father “Was willing to forgive a serious offense & move on.” Let’s continue with the story in vs. 14, “After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, & he began to be in need.”
A. This was evidently the first time in that boy’s life that he has ever been in need. Always before, his father had provided for him. But now he is hungry & cold & homeless. For the first time he’s in need, & it’s a new experience for him.
Vs. 15 says, “So he went & hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.”
Now, feeding pigs is about the lowest job on the farm. And if you were a Jewish boy who had been brought up to believe that pigs were unclean, then this was the lowest task imaginable. Jesus is telling the story that way so that we’ll see that this boy has come from the highest high to the lowest low.
Continuing on, “He longed to fill his stomach with the pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.” (Vs. 16)
So “When he came to his senses,” - important words – “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, & here I am starving to death.” (Vs. 17)
B. So it says that he set out to go back to his father & say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven & against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired men.” (Vs’s 18-19)
Notice that word, “make.” Here’s the big difference. Before then he was constantly saying to his dad, “Give me! Give me what is mine. I want what is mine. Give me my inheritance now.”
Now he is ready to go home & say, “Make me.” When you finally graduate from saying to God, “Give me! Give me!” all the time, to the place where you’re saying, “God, make me – make me into the kind of person You want me to be,” then you have graduated to where God can begin to mold you & make you into what you ought to be.
“So he got up & went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him & was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him & kissed him.” (Vs. 20)
Now isn’t that a great scene? Here is this son, this rebellious son, coming back home again.
If you or I had been his father, we probably would have given him an earful. But the father Jesus was telling about, while his son was still a long way off, saw him, ran to him, & welcomed him back with open arms.
And while the son is saying to his father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven & against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son,” the father is saying to his servants:
“‘Quick! Bring the best robe & put it on him. Put a ring on his finger & sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf & kill it. Let’s have a feast & celebrate.' (Vs's 22-23)
"For this son of mine was dead & is alive again; he was lost & is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” (Vs. 24)
ILL. Doug Flutie, a former award-winning CFL & NFL quarterback, has a severely handicapped autistic son who can’t speak. Doug once said, “I would give up all my successes on the ball field if my son could just look at me & say, ‘Dad.’ If he could just say that one word - If he could just say, ‘Dad’.”
I wonder, sometimes, if God doesn’t think about some of us that way? Is He saying, “If only my children would recognize me & realize that I’m their Father!”
He’s taken care of our basic needs. He is generous beyond expectations.
He has given us space to be our own selves. He has forgiven us over & over again. And He loves us all equally, even though we are very different. I’m thankful that I have a heavenly Father like that. Are you?
INVITATION
