Day 20: All that I have is yours #21 Day Purity Challenge

When you are genuinely a nice person who loves to show love to others, you may go out of your way for someone or some organization for them to feel your love. If they show appreciation and reciprocate that love in the same way it can feel great and you feel like you are being seen.

But what happens when someone else who doesn’t go above and beyond like you, gets treated better in a sense or receives special recognition for doing less than what you have done? Would you continue to be yourself?

In the story of the prodigal son, the Father gave his younger son his portion of the inheritance early and he squandered his wealth on wild living. You can only imagine what this wild living consisted of, but we can assume it wasn’t godly. It didn’t go well for him in the long run and he decided to return to his father because at least he would be fed well even as a servant.

When the son returned, the father could have explained that his behavior was not welcomed and could have sent him away, but instead he welcomed him by throwing a big party for him and put him in the finest apparel, restoring him to his place in the household. When the older son saw this special party for his younger brother, he was very angry and refused to attend.

Luke 15:28-30 says, “The older son became angry and refused to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look, all these years I have served you and never disobeyed a commandment of yours. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!”

I think many would have responded the way the older son did, but if we observe closer, we see where this son misjudged his father’s intentions.

The father responds in verses 31-32, “Son, you are always with me,’ the father said, ‘and all that is mine is yours. But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

Listed below are 4 observations of the older son that we should be aware of to examine ourselves…

1. When we compare our life to others it steals our joy and satisfaction. The older son took account of what he did or received compared to his younger brother which made him angry and upset with how he was treated.

2. When we are angry it makes us unable to celebrate and empathize with others. The older son could not celebrate his younger brother’s return because of his offense with their father, which could open a door for other spirits such as jealousy and envy.

3. A love that is transactional does not automatically prove its authenticity. The older son thought his father was mistreating him and withholding benefits from him. He thought since he was good and obedient that he should be rewarded for this. A true relationship is built off of accepting the other as they are and loving them the same whether they perform well or not. It is unconditional, sacrificial, and seeks to understand the other where they are.

4. Someone in pride cannot receive grace. Pride wants to earn his place in the Kingdom and is self-sufficient. Pride needs you to show them over and over that they are approved, loved, and worthy.

Let’s examine our acceptance of the grace of God and make sure we are staying connected to the Father because we have faith in who He says He is and will do for those who diligently seek Him. When we feel unappreciated or mistreated, may we approach the throne of grace and receive what is already ours to have. We know that God will never mishandle us because He is righteous in all His judgments. May we extend the same grace and love God gives us to those in our workplaces, homes, churches, and communities.