The Father’s Heart

Sometimes it seems as though we human beings need to experience the suffering of a bad time before we’re able to savor and celebrate a good time.

So, 13 years ago—some of you already know this, some of you may not—but one of my sons, Logan, nearly died in a drowning accident. As Susan and I and the rest of our family were settling into a motel room in Kelowna that first night we were there, Logan was in the hospital in an induced coma, and we didn’t know if he was going to live or die.

And I broke down and wept in the shower. I was absolutely heartbroken.

One month later, my family and I decided we’re going to go to the PNE, and Logan is with us. He’s completely recovered—a little bit weak, but otherwise 100% fine—and we’re sitting at a picnic table in the evening, he and I, and the sun is about to go down. It’s the cool of the evening, and we’re eating french fries together.

And I think to myself, this moment is incredible, because my son, who was dead, is alive again, and I’m eating french fries with him at the PNE.

Human life is incredibly fragile, and it’s painful for us human beings to live with the reality of that fragility.

And so what we tend to do is build up barriers around our heart to protect it.

But the thing of it is, when we do that, what happens is—when our heart is surrounded by those kinds of barriers—it tends to atrophy and become hard.

And then what we tend to do is gather in groups of like-minded people, and we start to engage in battles of various kinds of us versus them. And this drama gets played out over and over again, day by day—in our homes, in our communities, and around the world.

But there is a better way to live.

And that is where we lay down the barriers we tend to place around our heart, and we make ourselves vulnerable to experiencing pain and suffering and grief. And we do that because we want to embrace the joy of celebration in those good times that also come.

Now, the question we need to ask ourselves—and the question that I’m putting before you today—is this:

How do we live with an open heart when our natural inclination and the world around us tell us to protect it?

To help us as we think about that question, we’re going to be looking at Luke, chapter 15, verses 11 to 32, as we continue our series that we’re calling Setting the Captives Free, based on the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts.

In the first sermon in the series, we heard how Jesus came to fulfill Scripture and to release creation from its bondage to sin and brokenness and restore it to its rightful state of harmony with its Creator.

And then in the next sermon in the series, we heard from Jesus about how prayer is all about relationship—the relationship that we have with God.

And in this section of Scripture that we’re looking at, we are in the middle of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. That’s the third of the four parts in the Gospel of Luke. And throughout His journey to Jerusalem, Jesus comes into conflict with a group of people called the Pharisees.

Now, the Pharisees are a group within Judaism, and they should have been the good guys,

because they had God’s Word. They had the Hebrew Bible—the Old Testament, as we call it. They were the kind of people that would hang out with the ordinary folk. They weren’t consorting with the high and mighty, and they were very focused on God’s Word and focused on living as God wanted us to. They had all the right stuff.

But they had a big problem

on the inside—in their souls. And this is where humanity’s problems always start: in our soul. And what happens is, what’s in our soul gets revealed eventually by our actions.

And here’s the problem that they had—a problem that was revealed by Jesus when He said to them, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.”

And so the soul problem that they had was hypocrisy.

They looked good on the outside—

man, they looked good—

but on the inside, they were filled with evil and darkness. And they didn’t like their hypocrisy being exposed by Jesus.

And so what they began to do was fiercely oppose Him. They would ask Him questions—they were trying to trip Him up.

And it got worse from there, because eventually, they began making plans for how they could get Jesus killed—

and they succeeded.

But here’s the thing: even though Jesus knew what was in their hearts—

knew that they hated Him,

knew that they were actively opposing Him,

knew that they were going to plot to kill Him—

He didn’t reject them.

Instead, what He did was invite them into a deeper life with God.

And He did it through a very special story.

And that story is found in Luke chapter 15, and it’s a story about a loving Father’s heart.

So this takes place about the middle of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. And what’s going on is Jesus is hanging around with tax collectors and others who would be considered disreputable by the society of the time, and the Pharisees are kind of complaining about this.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered—this is from Luke—“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So in response, Jesus tells all present—so that includes the tax collectors and the other sinners and the Pharisees—three stories.

First, He tells them a story about a shepherd who finds a lost sheep and then invites his friends and neighbors to celebrate.

Then He tells them the story about a woman who finds a lost coin and invites her friends and neighbors to celebrate.

And then Jesus makes it very clear that the point of these stories is the celebration.

He says, “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

Now, psychologists tell us that it’s important for our well-being to celebrate.

But here’s the thing: it’s hard for us to celebrate something if we do not agree that it’s good.

This is why nobody in Vancouver celebrates if Boston ever wins a Stanley Cup.

We cannot agree that that’s a good thing.

So it all comes back to the soul again, right?

And so what Jesus is doing by telling these stories is—He’s saying essentially this:

“I’m telling you these stories—do they resonate with you?

Does the celebration that’s described in them move your heart to celebrate as well?”

Because there’s often a change that needs to happen in our soul so that it aligns with the heart of God and celebrates the things that God celebrates.

So then Jesus tells a third story, and it’s sometimes called the story of the prodigal son, but there’s actually four characters in the story: there’s the father, there’s the oldest son, there’s the youngest son, and then there’s the surrounding community.

So the younger son asks for his share of his inheritance.

Just the request would have been shocking to the surrounding community—like, nobody ever did this. Ever.

And what was even more shocking is the father agrees to his son’s request and divides up his estate and gives the younger son’s share to him while he’s still alive, even though the son’s request is like going to his father while he’s still alive and saying, “I wish you were dead.”

That’s the gist of the request.

The younger son takes the money that was given to him, and he wastes it in wild living in a far-off land.

There, in desperation, he begins to work for a Gentile farmer, looking after pigs—and for a Jew, this is absolutely the worst sin.

But it even gets worse for the young man in the story, because he’s experiencing total rejection.

No one will give him anything.

He’s rejected, he’s lonely, he’s hungry. He’s so hungry, he wants to eat the pig food.

But then he makes a plan.

He says to himself, I will set out and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I’ve sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” So he got up and went to his father.

That sounds a lot like repentance, right?

But it really isn’t repentance. It’s a plan.

It’s a plan to get food and clothing and shelter for himself.

So he gets up and he goes back to his father,

and let’s let Jesus tell the rest of the story:

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

The father unconditionally welcomes his son home, and

again, the surrounding community is speechless.

Like, who does this? This young man took a third of your estate and blew it, and he comes home dirty and smelling like pigs, and you hug him and kiss him and welcome him back—not as a hired man, but as a son.

And the son’s heart is melted by his father’s love.

And again he confesses, but this time it’s true repentance. There’s no plan here.

And Jesus continues:

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

And now goods are being used. Before, the son took goods and wasted them in wild living. Now, the father takes goods and he uses them in celebration over the return of his son.

The son had lost everything, and now everything is restored—because of the love of the father.

Now the older brother comes in from the field, and he hears all the celebration, and he finds out what’s going on. And he is angry—white-hot angry—and he refuses to join the celebration.

The father goes out to his eldest son, and when he invites his eldest son to the feast, the son refuses. And when the father tries to reconcile with his oldest child, the eldest son insults him.

He insults him by arguing with his father in front of the crowd—the community that’s gathered.

He insults his father’s wisdom, his decision-making. He complains against his father publicly.

And on top of all that, the eldest son also slanders his youngest brother in front of his father, saying that he spent that money on prostitutes—when he would have no way of knowing if that was really true or not. He’s making stuff up.

But despite the insults and the slander, the Father’s heart is still filled with outrageous love for his eldest son.

“My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.

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.”

Now, Jesus’ story is incredible—and it’s open-ended.

We do not know how the eldest brother responds.

But what makes this story even more incredible is that through this story, Jesus is inviting the Pharisees—because they’re the older brother. The tax collectors and the other sinners—they’re the younger brother.

Jesus is inviting the Pharisees to come home to their Heavenly Father’s love and join in the celebration over the return of the younger brothers.

And we know that some of those Pharisees accepted that invitation, because Paul was a Pharisee, and in Acts chapter 15, we read that there were Christian Pharisees at the Jerusalem Council.

But what does all of this mean for us?

Well, first of all, dear friends, we do not need to be afraid about times of heartbreak, perhaps coming our way—or grief—because our loving Father will be with us in those moments.

So,

when I went through those days in Kelowna, I would not have wished for—or I would not want them—for anybody else,

but I would not have wanted to miss them for the world.

There was such a sweetness, because I’ve never felt closer to God in my entire life.

And our Heavenly Father is not only saving us from certain things,

He is also saving us for certain things.

So, for example, here’s something I’m learning:

For most of my life, my default assumption was that the people around me didn’t love me.

That’s not their fault. This was just how I interpreted things because of my own brokenness.

And what I am realizing is two things:

First of all, that I am surrounded by people who do love me—always have been.

But secondly, when I realize that and go forward in life with that assumption, with that default setting…

What happens is, I actually really begin to see how much people love me.

And the thing of it is, God the Father is saving us for a community—

where He wants to bring us into a community where we are surrounded by people who love us with His love.

It’s called the church.

And those people are broken, just like we are—

but they’re loved, and they’re forgiven, just like we are.

And they want to love us, just like they know God loves them.

So then we can ask ourselves, who are we in Jesus’ story?

Are we the younger son, whose heart has been hardened by rebellion?

Well, if that’s the case, I want you to know that the Father is with you, and He loves you.

And it doesn’t matter where you are—regardless of the loneliness, pain, sorrow, suffering, or grief that you are right in the middle of right now—

your Heavenly Father is with you, and He loves you, and He will carry you through that time.

And He’s inviting you to come home so that He can embrace you and restore you as a beloved, forgiven child in His family.

Or maybe we’re the older son—who faithfully serves God, not out of love but out of obligation, and is repulsed by celebrations over sinners who have come home.

The Father is also with you, and He loves you too.

He sees your faithful service, and you have a special place in His heart.

And He’s inviting you to join in the celebration and be caught up in the overflow of God’s love—for those younger children, your younger brothers, and your older brothers alike—

so that your heart can resonate with the same love that is in your Heavenly Father’s heart.

But maybe… you’re like a third son, who’s not in the story.

And the reason the third son is not in the story is because the third son is telling the story.

Maybe you’ve stayed home and faithfully served your Father—not out of obligation, but because of love, because of faith, because of hope.

If that’s the case, you are like that third son.

Because, you see, Jesus is the older brother who faithfully serves His Father with an unconditional, infinite love.

And Jesus is the older brother who goes looking for His younger brothers and sisters.

And He gets down into the muck and the mire of whatever pigpen they may be in. He cleans them up. He brings them home,

where they live forever in God’s family.

And this Jesus did by coming into this world as one of us,

living a perfect human life for us,

dying a sinner’s death on a cross for us,

and then rising from the dead to give us life with Him forever.

So if you are a faithful, loving older brother,

then you are actually the goal of the story—

and Jesus is inviting you to partner with Him in seeking and saving all who are lost.

You see, the story of all things begins with a God who created us and all things because of love,

and that story will end with that same God restoring and renewing all things again—because of love—

and in between the beginning and the end, God and His love are with us throughout our journey in life.

So the challenge I wish to leave with you today is this:

Come home to the Father.

Let His love embrace you.

And as His love filters into your soul,

He will transform you into a person who loves with an open heart.

Amen.