The 3 Failures of the Older Son
Page 168 opens a HUGE can of worms unseen through non-peasant eyes. The older son in the Parable of the lost sonS. Never before have I realized that the older son was not right with the Father from the very beginning!! I mean it makes complete sense as the ending of the parable exposes the older son's wicked heart -- the heart was clearly rotten from the start -- you can only hide so much. The older son fails 3 times in the first half of the parable. He fails to respond in refusal or verbal uproar, he fails to reconcile the younger brother to his father, and he fails to demonstrate loyalty to his father.
Failure to respond in refusal or verbal uproar. Bailey says that the older son "should loudly refuse to accept his share in protest against the implications of his brother's request. His silence strongly suggests that his relationship with his father is not what it should be." Wow. Boom. Dead. We expect the older son to do something! To disagree at the least. Here we see that he purposefully doesn't do that. He uses his younger brother's outward sin and misbehavior to his benefit. Reaping the reward of his inheritance even though he knows that this is wrong.
Failure to reconcile the younger brother to his father. "If the older son hates his brother, he will still go through the motions of trying to reconcile for the sake of his father. This older son remains silent. Again his silence tells us of the problems in his relationship to the father." This one hit me deep. Often times I feel that it is also my duty to reconcile my brother to my Father. Though God is the one who calls His children back to Him, it is my duty to help bridge the gap and gently push my brother along. Truthfully, I have not done that with Jake. I have been sitting over here, bitter, disappointed, not approving of his choices. I've been very short with him because I'm hurt and I'm mad at him for making mistakes. This is NOT the attitude to have. This shows that I don't have the right relationship with God in this moment. Ouch. Thanks, Bailey, for yet again another reminder. I think moving into summer, as Sonshine staff, we are aiding in the walking of our brothers and sisters back to our Father. I love how Steve tied in the staff prayer after response time. Rejoicing in the pain of restoration and knowing that rejoicing in the communion of the unholy (humans) reflects the ultimate holiness of God and His Kingdom.
Failure to demonstrate loyalty to his father. Love God first and everything else flows naturally from there. Holding fast to the love of God and being loyal to Him always! Because of this, the other two mentioned above obviously turn to failures. Without having the right alignment, there's no way anything in life can succeed. There's no way I can truly love my brother, forgive him, and lead him back to Jesus without first loving God and trusting in His ways. Our loyalty lies with God and no one else. Imagine if every life of every person was lived out in this way.
-Lauren E.
Failure to respond in refusal or verbal uproar. Bailey says that the older son "should loudly refuse to accept his share in protest against the implications of his brother's request. His silence strongly suggests that his relationship with his father is not what it should be." Wow. Boom. Dead. We expect the older son to do something! To disagree at the least. Here we see that he purposefully doesn't do that. He uses his younger brother's outward sin and misbehavior to his benefit. Reaping the reward of his inheritance even though he knows that this is wrong.
Failure to reconcile the younger brother to his father. "If the older son hates his brother, he will still go through the motions of trying to reconcile for the sake of his father. This older son remains silent. Again his silence tells us of the problems in his relationship to the father." This one hit me deep. Often times I feel that it is also my duty to reconcile my brother to my Father. Though God is the one who calls His children back to Him, it is my duty to help bridge the gap and gently push my brother along. Truthfully, I have not done that with Jake. I have been sitting over here, bitter, disappointed, not approving of his choices. I've been very short with him because I'm hurt and I'm mad at him for making mistakes. This is NOT the attitude to have. This shows that I don't have the right relationship with God in this moment. Ouch. Thanks, Bailey, for yet again another reminder. I think moving into summer, as Sonshine staff, we are aiding in the walking of our brothers and sisters back to our Father. I love how Steve tied in the staff prayer after response time. Rejoicing in the pain of restoration and knowing that rejoicing in the communion of the unholy (humans) reflects the ultimate holiness of God and His Kingdom.
Failure to demonstrate loyalty to his father. Love God first and everything else flows naturally from there. Holding fast to the love of God and being loyal to Him always! Because of this, the other two mentioned above obviously turn to failures. Without having the right alignment, there's no way anything in life can succeed. There's no way I can truly love my brother, forgive him, and lead him back to Jesus without first loving God and trusting in His ways. Our loyalty lies with God and no one else. Imagine if every life of every person was lived out in this way.
-Lauren E.
Peasant goggles for everyone!!!! Great post Lauren, highly recommend you use this for Tuesday night Driver float material!
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