Welcome to day 19 of our 40 day challenge! Today, we are in Luke 18

(You can catch up on our Intro, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18 if you missed them)

Luke 15:11-32

The Parable of the Lost Son

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robeand put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

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Some passages are so precious to me that I can’t imagine not having them in my heart. We read this passage together during our challenge two years ago, focusing on practices to bring us closer to the Lord.  During our focus on the practice of generosity, we looked at this passage, the father’s radical generosity, and the two sons’ responses. (You can see it here! I’ve linked Jack’s two studies of this passage there as well. )

In that post two years ago, I said that if we come across an attribute of God that makes Him seem too good to be true, that’s likely an indication that it is indeed true. That’s just how good the Lord is! When you think of His goodness, and you wonder if it’s too much, too kind, too generous, too loving to be what He’s like, it’s true! He is better than we can ever imagine. ♥

Reading this parable as a new believer, I identified with the son who left. I saw the incredible kindness of a Father running for me before a word left my mouth. What an incredible love! Before I knew Jesus and His heart, I couldn’t even imagine the Father running toward me as I tried to come to Him with no strings or conditions. I couldn’t imagine the love and kindness He had toward me.

And now that I’ve been in the house with the Father for so long, as I read it, I can see it from the older son’s perspective. Will I rejoice when those who are lost return? When the dead come alive? Will I keep my heart right toward those who return? And will I hold the words of the Father close to my heart: my child, I am always with you, and all I have is yours. What an incredible position we have.

We have a Father who loves us radically and generously, who longs for us to be with Him. And we have a Father who offers this generosity to His children who are with Him. The son in this parable could have celebrated any time, after all, all his father had was his. All he had to do was ask. But he didn’t. He ignored the bounty of his father’s goodness.

May we be the children who recognize the joy and blessing of being in our Father’s house. And may we rejoice when those who are lost come home. ♥

Options for further  journaling or discussion throughout the challenge:

• Choose a part of the passage to write out by hand. Writing by hand helps us slow down and focus on what the Lord might highlight for us in the passage. Our brains can focus and remember better by writing than just reading alone.
• Journal about what the passage brings to mind. Does the passage tell us anything about God? Does it tell us anything about our response to Him?
• Does your heart respond in gratitude to any part of the passage? Write or pray your gratitude to the Lord.

We’ll see you tomorrow for Day 20, in Deuteronomy and Matthew

♥ Samantha