May there be joy in heaven today!

Luke 15:1-24 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. ² Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

³ So He told them this parable, saying, ⁴ “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? ⁵ When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

⁸ “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

¹¹ And He said, “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. ¹³ And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. ¹⁴ Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. ¹⁷ But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ ²⁰ So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; ²³ and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

How often do we hear of people, or perhaps we ourselves, make a deal with God? We say things like, God if You will get me out of this mess, if You will heal my loved one, if You will just…, I’ll be a better person, I’ll go to church every week, I’ll pray more, read the Bible more. If You will, I will. But when God is faithful, far too often the promises people make are not kept. In today’s text, in the parable of the prodigal we see one who experienced the desperation of wanting to make a deal with the father.   

The story goes:    The younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ So he got up and came to his father. So the son, recognizing his mistake repents, he decides to make a deal with the father. Now watch what happens.    But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.   Now here’s when many who prayed in desperation, might have begun to backtrack on their part of the deal. But the son had truly repented. He had changed his mind and his actions. He is faithful to the deal.   And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  It was the father who did not hold the son to the deal. But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’   The father forgave the son. He reconciled him to himself and restored him to his position

Like the son, we too need to truly repent. We need to change both our actions, the things we do which are outside of the Father’s will, but even more we need to change our minds about who we are. For us though it’s not about making a deal with God. It’s not about changing our standing with Him. God’s not interested in our becoming reduced to being His servants. What we need to change, is to view ourselves as God already views us. Even when we are wallowing with the swine, God is watching and waiting for us to come to Him. We need to change the way we think. We need to recognize that we are children of the Most High God. We are heirs of His kingdom. We don’t need to make a deal with Him. Everything He has is already ours. God has already forgiven us through Christ His Son. God has already reconciled us to Himself through the cross of Christ. God has already restored us to who He created us to be, in His image and likeness. All we need to do is repent, to go and sin no more and to believe that we are God’s children. We can’t make a deal with God. There is nothing we can do on our own to change our standing with God. God Himself made the deal. He made the way for us to be redeemed, reconciled and restored. Sin separates us from Him and from who we are created to be. But He Himself made a way.

“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)    That’s the deal. All we need to do is accept it. For any who do God says:  “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You for making and showing me the way. Thank You that in and through Christ I am Your child, Your heir and I have all that You intended for me. I pray that today, others too would accept what You have done, that they would repent, changing their mind and their actions and that both heaven and earth will celebrate with joy.   Amen.