If you have no idea what I am referring to, in the Bible, Jesus tells a story about a father and his two sons. In the story, the younger brother asks for his inheritance and then leaves for a foreign land to waste it all. As he realizes he is an idiot, while in a pigs sty I’ll add, he heads home to his father to ask forgiveness.
In a ludicrous display of affection the father restores his son and throws a party... a beautiful representation of God’s love for us. While this is happening the older brother is working in the field or something, hears the party, and asks what is going on.. To his dismay he realizes his brother is home and their father has just fully restored him.
Enraged he refused to go inside, so the father goes out to him. While entreating his son to join in the celebration, the son responds that he has always been faithful and daddy never threw him a party. He compared his obedience to his brothers lack of obedience and saw himself as more deserving of the fathers love.
These two sons are a major display of two ways of life: Live it up and rebel, stay at home and obey.
...and here are the responses.
The prodigal tries to earn back his place by offering to work for his father, the older son has worked for his father and thinks he has earned the place.
(This is a super short version of a very important parable Jesus told.)
Somedays I think I am fleeing God in my sin and if I just do some stuff for God I will earn back my place of feeling good... I am acting just like the younger brother, but let me stay faithful to the church and study of the word for a week or two and immediately I switch to the older brother. Thinking that I have earned something, I never know what, I just feel like other Christian don’t care as much as I do...So dumb.
These two mentalities show one thing - sin.
It is simple, in one train of thought you sin by thinking you can earn something, and the other you think you have already earned something.
Completely forgetting that what we have been given by God, is freely given.
The younger son couldn’t earn back his place in the Father’s house, his place was freely given.
The older brother had not earned his place in the house, his place was freely given.
To fight both mentalities I found one quick fix.... I was bad enough that Christ had to die on a cross for me, yet I was loved enough that Christ chose to die on that cross for me. The same cross both humbles, and values the human soul.
We can neither please God enough to earn Heaven, nor offend Him enough to disqualify us.
For it is always been through grace that we should approach the throne of God.
