\n
Grace Waits 11-11-12<\/a><\/p>\n \n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Grace Waits<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Luke 15:11-32; 2 Corinthians 5:14-21<\/p>\n Grace waits for us to humbly accept it\u201d\u2122s gifts.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Luke 15:11-32 (MSG)<\/strong><\/p>\n 11-12\u00a0<\/sup>Then he said, \u201cThere was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, \u201d\u02dcFather, I want right now what\u201d\u2122s coming to me.\u201d\u2122<\/p>\n 12-16\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cSo the father divided the property between them. It wasn\u201d\u2122t long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.<\/p>\n 17-20\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cThat brought him to his senses. He said, \u201d\u02dcAll those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I\u201d\u2122m going back to my father. I\u201d\u2122ll say to him, Father, I\u201d\u2122ve sinned against God, I\u201d\u2122ve sinned before you; I don\u201d\u2122t deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.\u201d\u2122 He got right up and went home to his father.<\/p>\n 20-21\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWhen he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: \u201d\u02dcFather, I\u201d\u2122ve sinned against God, I\u201d\u2122ve sinned before you; I don\u201d\u2122t deserve to be called your son ever again.\u201d\u2122<\/p>\n 22-24\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cBut the father wasn\u201d\u2122t listening. He was calling to the servants, \u201d\u02dcQuick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We\u201d\u2122re going to feast! We\u201d\u2122re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here\u201d\u201dgiven up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!\u201d\u2122 And they began to have a wonderful time.<\/p>\n 25-27\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cAll this time his older son was out in the field. When the day\u201d\u2122s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, \u201d\u02dcYour brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast\u201d\u201dbarbecued beef!\u201d\u201dbecause he has him home safe and sound.\u201d\u2122<\/p>\n 28-30\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cThe older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn\u201d\u2122t listen. The son said, \u201d\u02dcLook how many years I\u201d\u2122ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!\u201d\u2122<\/p>\n 31-32\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cHis father said, \u201d\u02dcSon, you don\u201d\u2122t understand. You\u201d\u2122re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours\u201d\u201dbut this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he\u201d\u2122s alive! He was lost, and he\u201d\u2122s found!\u201d\u2122\u201d<\/p>\n Grace waits for us to humbly accept it\u201d\u2122s gifts.<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n David C. Fisher<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The younger son grew weary of the boundaries that marked his life. His entire life pointed toward him and his brother taking over the family business when the time was right. The thought of life as a gentleman farmer in the same house he grew up in, on the same farm he\u201d\u2122d always tended, in the same boring county with the same old friends, became a burden to him. His older brother embraced that destiny \u201d\u201c older children seem to identify more easily with the values and dreams of their parents. But the younger brother was not nearly so conservative, dutiful, and diligent. Rebellion stirred his soul.\u00a0 Besides, the old time religion of his family and culture seemed needlessly restrictive. All the do\u201d\u2122s and don\u201d\u2122ts just created his hunger to be free, to determine his own fate, to make his own way in the world.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But the younger son, the rebellious one, did the unthinkable in his world<\/em>.<\/p>\n When the boy had taken all of this stifling life he could stomach, he went to his father\u201d\u2122s office and, against all custom and common sense, demanded his inheritance in cash here and now. It was an unheard of breach of law and custom.\u00a0 He might as well have told his father he wished the old man was dead. The disrespect went even deeper. Jewish sons were obliged by the 5th commandment, \u201cYou shall honor your father and mother,\u201d to care for their parents as long as they lived. The younger son was walking away from more than cultural expectations \u201d\u201c by abandoning his aging<\/p>\n parents, he was abandoning God and God\u201d\u2122s law.\u00a0 He broke his father and mother\u201d\u2122s hearts. Against all conventional wisdom and against his<\/p>\n own self-interest, the father gave his son the cash equivalent of his inheritance.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u201d\u2122ve often wondered\u201d\u00a6<\/p>\n <\/p>\n WHY<\/strong> did the father do it?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The younger son was apparently an adult.\u00a0 And his father knew that treating him like a child would only make his resolve stronger.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The place where real relationships start is freedom.\u00a0 Because true, genuine relationships aren\u201d\u2122t forced or coerced or performance-driven.\u00a0 The best relationships exist and last because both parties sincerely and wholeheartedly want the relationship!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The father was essentially telling his son that he was free to choose to continue their relationship or free to leave it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This father knew that it was far more important for his son\u201d\u2122s heart to be genuinely and authentically right in the long run, than for his behavior to be outwardly clean and socially acceptable in the short term<\/span>. And he knew that he couldn\u201d\u2122t make his son\u201d\u2122s heart change\u201d\u00a6and so he let him go.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n David C. Fisher<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Both parents knew full well the boy was not ready for life in the real world. He\u201d\u2122d been sheltered his entire life and had no experience in the real world. They also knew that free of all restraint and with plenty of cash and opportunity to sow his wild oats, the story would not have a happy ending. But how would he ever learn otherwise? There\u201d\u2122s little, if<\/strong><\/p>\n any, logic in rebellion<\/strong>. They watched their dearly loved child pack his suitcase and walk away from the security and love of a nurturing home that protected him into a world that did not love him, would gladly use him so long as he was worth something, and finally dispose of him when<\/p>\n he no longer was necessary. In that far country of his dreams, his worth would depend on what he could provide to others. So long as he had money, looks and a bit of class, he\u201d\u2122d have friends and plenty of good times. Perhaps, I suppose, like many parents, his mom and dad prayed every day that if the boy survived his foolish adventure, he would<\/em><\/p>\n not be too scarred by it. They spent countless evenings wondering where on earth he might be and what he was doing<\/em>. Was he even alive?<\/p>\n The boy made his way quickly to the place his parents feared most: the godless world of the Gentiles. In that far country, the travel posters that had lined his bedroom walls became real. There he had plenty of money, time and opportunity to feed his every heart\u201d\u2122s desire. And he did. Dashing young man around town, fitted out in the finest of clothes, the boy attracted attractive friends with whom the good times rolled. \u201cIf only they could see me now,\u201d he laughed to himself. But deep inside himself he<\/p>\n knew better. As we all discover, freedom from restrictions can quickly become bondage to our own desires. Young, rich and dashing, the young man bought a lifestyle he just had to have. He was trapped in a new world of his own making.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Helmut Thielicke<\/strong><\/p>\n But he, the prodigal son, who sees his condition from the inside, knows differently. The world outside sees only the fa\u00c3\u00a7ade and what is put in the show window of this botched-up life. But he hears the rattle of the invisible chains in which he walks, and they are beginning to make him groan. But nobody helps him and nobody really knows him and no one really cares. Only the distant father, who watched him go away, he knows<\/strong>.<\/p>\n (The Waiting Father<\/em>, p. 25)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n David C. Fisher<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile back home, his parents never gave up on him. They patiently waited<\/strong> for him to come to his senses and come home. Their culture suggested otherwise. Those who fled family and faith back then were often treated as dead. They even held funeral services for such apostates. But not this father. He sat on the front porch peering intently into the distance, hoping<\/strong> against hope that his son would be the next figure on the horizon. Day after day, he waited<\/strong> and watched.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace waits for us to humbly accept it\u201d\u2122s gifts.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This father COULD have gone in search of his son, tracked him down and tried to convince him of why he should come home\u201d\u00a6but he didn\u201d\u2122t.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Grace waits for us to humbly accept it\u201d\u2122s gifts.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This father COULD have sent a whole posse of men to forcibly bring his son home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace waits for us to humbly accept it\u201d\u2122s gifts.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This father COULD have sent the older brother to try to reason with the young man.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace waits for us to humbly accept it\u201d\u2122s gifts.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This father COULD have tried to bargain with his son on the front end and negotiated something to keep the young fella happy so that he wouldn\u201d\u2122t be embarrassed by the boy\u201d\u2122s rebellion and presumption.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But this father did none of that\u201d\u00a6for he loved his son too much.\u00a0 And he knew that you can\u201d\u2122t force relationship.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He knew that only the \u201cunforced rhythms of grace\u201d can forge a relationship strong enough to hold in the storms.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And so\u201d\u00a6the father waited\u201d\u00a6and waited\u201d\u00a6and waited.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace waits for us to humbly accept it\u201d\u2122s gifts.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n We\u201d\u2122re not told how long he waited.\u00a0 But if we assume that his portion of his father\u201d\u2122s wealth was, very conservatively, a year\u201d\u2122s worth of cash for regular living, then the young man would have been able to last at least 6 months riding on the party train.\u00a0 Perhaps the wait for this father was much longer\u201d\u00a6a year\u201d\u00a6maybe two\u201d\u00a6perhaps 5 years.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Whatever the case, it was far too long for this gracious father\u201d\u00a6and yet not long enough to change his heart towards his son.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Grace waits for us to humbly accept it\u201d\u2122s gifts.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n David C. Fisher<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n And one day he spotted that familiar figure far off. It was his son! The father leaped to his feet, lifted his robe, and ran to greet his son. Such undignified behavior in a patriarch was scandalous in the near east \u201d\u201c it still is. When he reached his son, undeterred by the stench of pigs and sweat, he embraced his son and kissed him. \u201cWelcome home son. We missed you.\u201d The son began his speech, \u201cFather, I have sinned against heaven and\u201d\u00a6.\u201d The father interrupted his speech telling the servants to fetch a clean robe, the family signet ring, and sandals for the boy. \u201cNo son of mine will be dressed in raggedy clothes and walk barefoot in the sand. You are my son.\u201d\u00a0 Did you notice? No blame, no \u201cI told you so,\u201d or \u201cLook what you\u201d\u2122ve done to your mother.\u201d No probationary period after which, upon good behavior, he\u201d\u2122d be welcomed back. Instead, without conditions or recrimination, the father ordered the servants to prepare a banquet.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Grace waits for us to humbly accept it\u201d\u2122s gifts.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n David C. Fisher<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n God, like the father in the story, is a God of astonishing grace, patience, compassion and always eager to forgive. God is too busy preparing banquets and welcome home parties to make lists of unacceptable people.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace waits for us to humbly accept it\u201d\u2122s gifts.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 (MSG)<\/strong><\/p>\n 14-15\u00a0<\/sup>Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.<\/p>\n 16-20\u00a0<\/sup>Because of this decision we don\u201d\u2122t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don\u201d\u2122t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We\u201d\u2122re Christ\u201d\u2122s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God\u201d\u2122s work of making things right between them. We\u201d\u2122re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he\u201d\u2122s already a friend with you.<\/p>\n 21\u00a0<\/sup>How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.<\/p>\n Grace waits for us to humbly accept it\u201d\u2122s gifts.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n May we be full of grace, ready to give acceptance and love and hope and relationship to others\u201d\u201djust as God has given to us!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Grace Waits 11-11-12 Grace Waits Luke 15:11-32; 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 Grace waits for us to humbly accept it\u201d\u2122s gifts. \u00a0 Luke 15:11-32 (MSG) 11-12\u00a0Then he said, \u201cThere was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his … Continue reading