The Heart of a Father: Full of Grace

Luke 15:11 – 32

 

My dad was a stubborn mule, no, he was more stubborn than a mule. He hated to change, and everything had to be done -his- way, because his way was the only right way, he knew best. The apple didn’t fall from the tree, at least in the stubbornness department.

 

Working together we’d get into some truly awful fights. I mean ugly knock down drag out verbal fights that really break my heart to recall, especially since he’s been gone. I was much more hotheaded when I was younger, and I swore my dad had it all backwards.

 

But one of the things about my dad that really made me mad, that really got under my skin, was how much he loved me. I say that tongue in cheek of course, so let me explain.

 

We would have the ugliest verbal fights while working on the dairy together, in front of everyone to boot. Then later we’d be at home, and I’m still so mad you could see the smoke coming out of my ears, and my dad would calmly ask me what I wanted to eat, like nothing ever happened.

 

Are you kidding me?!?! I’m still ticked off because I wanted to do something on the farm my way, which I KNEW was so much better than his, but he refused to, and now he’s trying to feed me? The nerve of that man, humph.

 

But that was my dad. He only knew how to show love one way, by meeting physical needs, and he did that, without fail, even when it meant stretching well beyond his means.

 

He was by no means a perfect father, none of us are, not even close. But no matter how much he disagreed with me, no matter how disrespectful I was to him, or how awful his words to me were, or worse how lazy I was on the farm (that was the worst sin of all in his book), which at times in my teenaged years I was so unbelievably lazy, my dad always made sure I had what I needed. Oh, what I’d give to just tell him I’m sorry and let him know how just how thankful I am, one more time.

 

When you look at Scripture, you can find several characteristics that are generally common in godly fathers. Provision is one of them, my dad exemplified that one the best.

 

 Through my series on the family, I’ve touched on a few other characteristics of godly fathers, love for their families/wives in Eph. 5:25 from my sermon on marriage, leadership of the family in Josh. 24:15 from last week’s sermon, imparting wisdom on their kids in Deut. 6, and providing correction instead of antagonizing their kids from Eph. 6:4 from my sermon on raising a family.

 

But the characteristic I want to talk about today and end my series on the family with is about Grace. Now, let me be clear like I was on Mother’s Day, this doesn’t just apply to fathers. Let’s face it, we all need grace, and so all Christian’s are called to show that same grace to others.

 

But when looking at characteristics of godly dads we see that godly fathers demonstrate forgiveness. And it’s not just biological dads, but stepdads, granddads, coaches, men who mentor kids and mentor other men who are not their sons, spiritual dads, and any other male influence in someone’s life are to demonstrate grace and forgiveness in their lives, and they are to be celebrated today as well.

 

Today’s passage is a very well known parable of Jesus from Luke 15, we often refer to it as the parable of the prodigal son, or lost son. It’s our nature to focus on the prodigal, we often relate to the prodigal son because all of us once were lost, but then we were found.

 

And that’s great, we all need to recognize how lost and doomed for destruction and death we were before we were saved. It really helps us truly appreciate the saving grace that God provided us through Jesus on the cross. But that’s not the point of the parable, not really. Let’s read God’s Word together: Luke 15:11 – 32.

 

Most of us know this parable like the back of our hands. But allow me to place this parable in its larger context, because this is really important to understanding the full significance and meaning of the parable.

 

 Chapter 15 begins with grumbling Pharisees, what else is new right? It begins, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him (Jesus). And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’ So he told them this parable:” Luke 15:1 – 3.

 

Jesus actually tells them three parables, the last one being the parable of the prodigal son. The first two parables follow the same pattern, something of great value is lost, first a sheep and then a coin, and the person who lost them leaves the others behind and goes to great lengths to find them. And when they finally find them they both call their friends and neighbors to celebrate and rejoice with them because what was lost, has been found.

 

And both short parables end the with essentially the same commentary from Jesus, “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Joy, so much joy when a person repents and is saved. Amen.

 

And then we get to our parable for today. A father had two sons, the older one was the straight laced obedient son, and the younger one was the rebel child. The younger one decides he wants his share of the inheritance now, rather than after dad is gone. Under the law of Moses, the first born gets a double portion as his inheritance, so at most the younger son would have received 1/3 of the estate and the older brother would receive 2/3 of the estate.

 

So, dad obliges the younger son and divides his property between them. Literally not many days later, the younger son gathers all he had and takes off. He’s gone. And what does he do? He squanders all his inheritance in “reckless living.”

 

 Reckless living, wild living, living wastefully are all appropriate ways to view the description of how he squandered all he had. It wasn’t bad luck in business, or being robbed, no it was living recklessly. I don’t need to illustrate to you what life might have looked for him then, I’ll leave that your imagination. What matters is what comes next.

 

 Once all he had was gone, a severe famine hit the land, and he was in need. He had no way to feed himself, so he does what any able bodied man ought to do, he went and got himself a job. But this wasn’t any special job that required skill or technical knowledge and carried with it honor and status. No, it was the opposite. It was lower than the lowest grunt work. Let me break that down for you for a moment.

 

The younger son travelled to a far country, meaning he was far from his homeland. To Jesus’ Jewish audience that would’ve meant he was in pagan Gentile country, nowhere respectable or God honoring by their standards so nowhere a respectable and God fearing Jew would be found.

 

So, this younger son of this wealthy landowner hires himself out to a pagan, to an unclean Gentile with no respect or understanding of his religion. And the job the son is tasked with is feeding the pigs, an animal considered unclean by Jewish standards.

 

If that isn’t bad enough, the son longs to eat what the pigs ate. That’s how difficult his life has gotten for him. He’s considering sharing a table with these pigs! And no one gave him anything, no one looked after his needs, no one took pity on him. This isn’t just hard times the son has fallen into, no I don’t think any Jew, nor anyone today, would wish this kind of life on anyone.

 

But then he comes to himself, he comes to his senses. The son repents; he repents! Like the moment the lost sheep sees the shepherd, the moment the woman catches a glimpse of the lost coin, the son here remembers home and in his heart he repents, and he decides to turn around and go home.

 

Here's where we tend to relate to the younger son, right? We’ve messed up and we’ve repented in our hearts and have decided to go make it right. The son even plans out his next steps and he plans out what he’s going to say when he gets home. We’ve been there haven’t we?

 

He says to himself in v.19 what he will say to his father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” And off he goes.

 

 

Now, I don’t know what a long way off is, I don’t know if he saw him walking at the end of the lane or over on the next ridge, but what Jesus does tell us is that as soon as his father saw him he felt compassion, and he ran out to him, and he embraced him and he kissed him.

 

And the son in the middle of all that starts his rehearsed confession, he tries to throw himself at his father’s mercy, but he’s only able to get out 2/3 of it. “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

 

The father cuts him off, and he calls out to his servants to bring the best robe and put it on the son and put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. And then he tells them to slaughter the fattened calf so that they could eat it and celebrate. And celebrate they did, I bet it was a huge party, because his son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.

 

But dear old dad here has two sons. Where’s big brother? He was dutifully out in the field working. And when it was quitting time he headed to the house for a nice cold glass of iced tea I’m sure, and as he approached the house he heard quite a commotion. He hears music and dancing.

 

So, he calls out to one of the servants and asks what’s going on. Can you imagine the excitement in the servant’s voice, excited for his master because his lost son returned as he recounts the story to the older brother.

 

Sadly, the older brother isn’t rejoicing with his father. No, instead he’s bitter, resentful, angry, and he refuses to even go into the house. Forget the iced tea, he’s not setting foot in there while his younger brother, who not only left him behind to do all the work but also squandered what their father gave them, was there.

 

He was the older brother; he did everything right after all. He obediently followed dad’s rules, he dutifully helped run the family farm, he chose not to go out and party and instead be the responsible one, and this is the thanks he gets. Nuh-uh, nope, he’s not going in and when his father comes out to persuade him to, he tells him as much, he reads him the riot act!

 

 

He essentially tells him, “All these years I’ve been here, and I’ve done everything right and you never even gave me a goat! But when this poor excuse for a son comes home, the one who devoured what you gave him with women, for him you kill the calf and throw a feast!”

 

All that the father can say in response begins with, “Son you are always with me, all that is mine is yours.”

 

How about this son, can anyone relate to him? Have you ever been there, have you ever witnessed the seemingly worst of sinners come to Christ and receive God’s amazing grace and you who have always been obedient to God find yourself wondering how is this possible, wondering why?

 

As people, that’s sometimes a hard truth to wrap our heads around. When we see violent and awful criminals repent and come to Christ while in prison we struggle to grasp how they could be forgiven. When someone who hurt us or a loved one deeply, and then they repent we don’t want to naturally on our own want to forgive them or want God to forgive them either.

 

The Pharisees sure struggled with this too, remember where we began this morning. They were grumbling because tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to Jesus and worse, Jesus received them. Like the older son, the chosen people of God were with Him, and they were to receive their inheritance, as long as they remained obedient and aligned with the Father’s will.

 

But they became bitter and resentful and angry when they witnessed those who never followed or rejected God’s law, the most undeserving people receiving God’s amazing grace. Because God gives grace to even the most undeserving, you must extend God’s grace to others and celebrate it in your own life, and theirs.

 

Look at the rest of what the father says to the older son in our last verse, v.32, “It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.”

 

 He saw his son coming back to him from a mile away, and he could have sat there and waited all high and mighty saying, “Look who came crawling back.” Instead, he ran to him and embraced him and clothed him in splendor and threw a party because his lost son had repented and come home.

 

Every one of us has been the younger son, and every one of us at times has behaved like the older son. Both sons were in need of grace and mercy. Both sons were sought out by the father.

 

The father in the parable is a shadow, a reflection of our Father in heaven. His heart for His children is full of grace. When we squander the life He’s given to us by sinning against Him and others, He’s looking for us to repent.

 

And when we do, when we make that decision in our heart to turn away from sin in repentance and turn towards Him, He’s running out to meet us, to embrace us. His love is so deep, His grace flows so freely that we can’t even finish getting the words we rehearsed out. That’s grace, that’s what we are to take from God and extend to others.

 

Because grace is a characteristic of our Father in heaven, it must be a characteristic of godly father’s here on earth. Grace must be evident in our own lives, and we must give grace to those we are responsible for. We cannot receive this grace and not extend it to those closest to us. Dad’s, let your love for your children, for your family, be full of grace.

 

Let’s pray.