Love of the Prodigal God

Luke 15:1-3,11-32

Let’s greet those who are sitting next today. “You look like an angel today.”

Let’s say one more thing to them. “Embarrassed?”

Why? Didn’t we all get up early to get ready for church today? Since we are coming before God, we got up, took shower, put on some make up, and put on the best dress or clothes we own, didn’t we? Not only did we want to look good in front of God, but in front of others as well. We practiced putting on a smile.

But why are we embarrassed when someone say we look like an angel?

Isn’t it because we all know who we are, what kind of person we are.

I might have mentioned this before, but if you truly knew who I was, what’s on my mind, and what goes on in my life, then you probably wouldn’t want to accept me as your pastor or listen to what I have to say. But on the flip side, before you get up and walk out, if I really knew you, what’s on your mind, and what goes on in your life, I probably wouldn’t want to be your pastor or preach to you either.

We are such sinful people.

But God still loved us and was gracious to you. The Good News is that God loved us and accepted us, even though we are filled with sin. Therefore, we must always be thankful and live in obedience because of this thankfulness. Because we are thankful for this new life we’ve been given, we need to expand God’s Kingdom and bring God the glory, by living the life of discipleship.

Let us all be sure of and experience this amazing love of God upon our lives.

Tim Keller, a pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, calls this God who grants amazing love a Prodigal God. (The Prodigal God is the title of a book, and I want to share for next few weeks the message from this book.) What does it mean that God is prodigal?

The passage we read today is called the Parable of the Prodigal Son. We all know the story well. The word “prodigal” means recklessly extravagant or wasteful. You probably have heard the phrase “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” Why? In Vegas, people gamble, party, drink, and spend all their money away in wasteful way. And what happened there should not be revealed in our daily lives.

But Pastor Tim Keller used this word “prodigal” to refer to God. Wasteful God. Recklessly extravagant God. Why does Tim Keller say this about God? It is because God pours out his love upon one who do not deserve his love. He did not just love anyone. He loved and was gracious upon the very one who did not deserve his love.

What is a waste or being wasteful? When we pay a lot for something that is not worth it, we say it was a waste. When we spend time on something that is not worthwhile, or when we put our mind on something that is not worthwhile, we called that a waste. It is not wasteful just because you spent $100 or more on something. If the item was worth $100, then it’s not a waste. But if the item was worth way less and you spent $100, then that’s a waste. You can watch movies that are same 2 hours in length, but one can give you pleasure or move your heart, while the other you feel like you wasted last two hours. There are people who pleases you and there are those who angers you. Being nice to the former is okay, but being nice to the latter seems wasteful.

But that’s precisely what God does. He gives loves to ones who should not receive his love. To the one who only cares about himself, God still shows his love. Looking at this from the worldly perspective, it is wasteful. God just wastes his love. But aren’t we thankful because of that? We were so undeserving of God’s grace, but God loved us anyways.

We see this God in our text today, God who loves the unlovable. Who does he show his love to in the story? Who is the one undeserving of God’s love?

We often say that it is the younger son who did not deserve the father’s love. And yes, that is absolutely true. Look at what kind of person this younger son was. He was really bad. He goes to his father and asks for his share of inheritance. That means he is wishing that his father passes away. Then he takes all his possession, goes to a far country, and wastes away everything. Then the harsh reality sets in. He spent all his possession away and there was a famine in that country. So he does the unthinkable for a Jewish person, by working in the pig stock and eating the things pigs ate. Finally, he comes to his senses and decides to return home.

While he was still long ways off, the father runs over to him and receives him. This is the wasteful moment in the story. The younger son says that he does not deserve to be accepted back as a son, but that he should be like one of the hired servants. But the father shows extraordinary love.
v. 20 – “[his father] was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
v. 22 – “But his 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.”
The father is reinstating him as a son. Robe meant inheritance, as we have seen in the story of Joseph and his cloth, Samson betting Philistines outer garment, and how Jesus will clothe us in white.
v. 23 – “Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.”
You do not kill a fatten calf every day. This was a big celebration.

This was love that was beyond the worthiness of the younger son. But the father shows that love to him. Why? Because he was the father. What more reason can there be? The father’s heart was upon his lost son. No matter how bad one might be, son is a son. Some may call it a waste, but that was the father’s heart. And that is God’s heart.

How beautiful is this story? Aren’t we all moved when we think of the father’s love towards the younger son? Doesn’t our heart warm up when we think of the love of God for sinful people like us? But the people of the time did not think that way. They could not understand or accept Jesus or what Jesus had told them. And if we really understand the story, we might have the same attitude.

Who was this parable told to? V. 1 – “Now the tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were all gathering around to hear him.” First, the people who heard the story were the tax collectors and sinners. Who are these people? These were the ones who have been dismissed by others and judged by others as sinful. They were the ones deserving of punishment. They were, in fact, just like the younger son.

But there is another group. V. 2 – “But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” The Pharisees and the teachers of the law. They complained about Jesus spending time with sinners. Would they have given thanks and praise to God when they heard this parable? Absolutely not.

Who were the Pharisees and the teachers of the law? They were the ones who tried to be perfect before God. They hear the commandments of God and obey them to the T. In fact, they are like the older son. The older son is the one who was faithfully working for the father. As he watched his younger brother take off with everything, he stayed faithful to his father and did everything for him. He was that perfect child.

But when his younger brother came and received his father’s love, how did he react? Was he thankful and grateful that his younger brother returned home safely? Did he run up to his younger brother to embrace him and kiss him? No. He was furious and did not go into the party his father threw for his brother.

Why did he react this way? It is because the older son wanted the same thing as the younger brother. He was only thinking about himself. The younger son dared to ask his father for inheritance. The older son’s way of asking inheritance was through obedience. He did not obey his father because he loved his father. But he wanted the inheritance and obedience was a mean to getting it.

How do we know this was the heart of the older son? V. 29 – “Look! All these years I’ve been salving for you and never disobeyed you.” “Slaving for you.” This shows the heart. He considered his work as something he had to do, in order to get his father’s inheritance. But now his father is taking what is rightfully his share and wasting it upon his younger brother. How would he not get mad?

I have been working so hard for this, but the one who is not worth is getting all the love.

Isn’t this the reflection of who Pharisees and the teachers of the law are? Why is this rabbi named Jesus spending time with these worthless people?

Dear friends, isn’t this reflection of who we are as well? We have tendency to automatically dismiss Pharisees as bad people. I mean, the Bible calls them the brood of vipers. But they are not unlike us, in that they take pride in their self-righteousness. Don’t we? I am an elder. I am a deacon. I am a founding member of this church.

Let’s put it this way. If a person dressed in a ragged cloth, wreaking smells of alcohol and cigarette walked into the doors of our church, how would you receive him or her? What if someone who we feel uncomfortable around comes to our church? At one Korean church in Houston, a black person walked into the church, and someone yelled, quick protect the children and hide all the valuables. What if there was someone who has piercings and tattoos all over their body? What if a homosexual person or a drug addict walked into our church?

Jesus accepted them, even though he did not condone their lifestyle. Will we be willing to accept them and embrace them?

Take a good look at yourself. Are you any different than the older son?

But here is the message of grace. God shows his love to both the younger and the older son. The father, who killed a fatten calf to throw a party for his younger son, now goes out to plead and change the heart of the older son, who was mad and refused to go into the party. The father does not have to plead with him. But the father desires his older son to be in the community as well, because he loves him.

Our God loves us. Whether we are like the older son or the younger son, God still loves us. Both did not deserve to be loved by God, but both were loved by God. We must be thankful for this amazing love of God. We will look in more details how this amazing love of God plays out in our lives over the next few weeks.