Thoughts From the Bible

Read Luke 15: 25- 32 -   The story of the return of the prodigal son had two sides. First was the humility of the prodigal son. The second was the jealousy of the brother who had stayed with his parents while his son wandered without direction. This is written at the end of the chapter, "(30) But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him .   (31) And he said to him 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. ( 32) 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 .'"   Jealousy raises its ugly head in the son who was angry as the father welcomed home the prodigal son. This is another example of the emphasis the scriptures place on the individual and how important an individual is .    As Christians, we need to be concerned about the individual and that is what is somewhat different from gov...

Read Luke 15: 11- 24-   This is the story of the prodigal son. The son who left home with his inheritance and squandered the inheritance through irrational living and became destitute. The thing I think is interesting in this parable is that the prodigal son became humble through his mistakes and trials.  Verses 18 and 19 say, " I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. (19) and I am no longe r worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.'"   The prodigal son did not come home demanding to be restored to his position as son. He came back asking to be one of the workers. We all make mistakes and we all find ourselves in times of need. It is important for us to recognize our failings and learn from them while pushing pride aside and remain humble as we ask others for help. So much of life is attitude and so much of our relationship with Jesus is attitude. We need to know we ...