“Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends” (Luke 15:29).
This elder son could be a type of the modern ‘cold old believer’. He has a seniority of many years to boast about – “Lo, these many years do I serve thee.”
He is full of himself – wrapped up in himself. Although his loving father ‘entreated him’ to come in and join the joyful fellowship, he argues with him. “…neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment,” he says. How can anyone believe this arrogant statement of the older son, seeing he refused to obey even the entreaties of his caring father! Often, those who speak highly of themselves are as empty as this ‘Pharisee’. Look at the complaint he makes (cold believers are complainers too!) to his father – “Thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends.”
Dear reader, if you cannot enjoy the fellowship of the saints, it means you have friendship and merriment elsewhere. If you long for ‘a kid’ (worldly pleasures), you will never enjoy the fatted calf, music and dancing (great spiritual blessings) in the Father’s house, the Church.
Maybe the elder son finally went inside – as the music and the dancing were about to end and when the feast of the fatted calf had only leftovers. Could this be the picture of the ‘Sunday Christian’, who finally (towards the end of the singing session) reaches for the back seat?
– Taken from Morning Manna – Thoughts for Daily Devotion
He is full of himself – wrapped up in himself. Although his loving father ‘entreated him’ to come in and join the joyful fellowship, he argues with him. “…neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment,” he says. How can anyone believe this arrogant statement of the older son, seeing he refused to obey even the entreaties of his caring father! Often, those who speak highly of themselves are as empty as this ‘Pharisee’. Look at the complaint he makes (cold believers are complainers too!) to his father – “Thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends.”
Dear reader, if you cannot enjoy the fellowship of the saints, it means you have friendship and merriment elsewhere. If you long for ‘a kid’ (worldly pleasures), you will never enjoy the fatted calf, music and dancing (great spiritual blessings) in the Father’s house, the Church.
Maybe the elder son finally went inside – as the music and the dancing were about to end and when the feast of the fatted calf had only leftovers. Could this be the picture of the ‘Sunday Christian’, who finally (towards the end of the singing session) reaches for the back seat?
– Taken from Morning Manna – Thoughts for Daily Devotion
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