Come to the party...

lately i've been reading and rereading the prodigal son...

you know the parable, right?

a man had two sons, the younger one ask for his portion, the father gives it to him, he squanders it with wild living, he loses it all and finds himself feeding pigs and wanting their scraps to eat, he remembers his Daddy, decides to go home, the Daddy sees him coming and prepares for a party to celebrate, the older brother gets a little put off, whines and pouts and acts like me...

(you can read it HERE )

i've read this countless times and heard sermons on it my whole life...
but the truth of it,
is falling kind of fresh.
maybe I just need to be reminded...

my favorite portion of that whole parable
the verse ... where the younger son...the one that went his own way, wasted his fortune...
it says...

"when he came to his senses''

this parable is such a picture
of humanity
of our nature

as i read, each player spoke to me--but it was the older brother that I thought about

a lot

see,
his brother went off
wasted all his money
on
partying
women
living in a way that left him excessively empty
and THEN he decided to come back home

when the daddy saw that boy coming
he was
elated
he called for the servants to
put on a party

and the older brother?
he got a little put out (or you know...ANGRY if we stay true to scripture)
he sat and thought of all he'd done right...
he'd stayed with his daddy...
he'd worked and lived right...
he'd honored his raising...
and he'd never gotten a party
(whiny pouty crybaby)

i love how it's worded, when the daddy kinda sets him in place...
''be WE had to celebrate and be glad''
(in other words...get over yourself, refocus boy...WE have to celebrate...your brother is HOME!)

it's hard ...
the human nature in us
likes to see you get what's coming to you...
but it's kinda crazy...
we want grace for us
but justice for ''them''
we want to remind God of all the good we've done
and WOULD YOU JUST LOOK AT THEM GOD...
do you SEE what they are doing????
can you BELIEVE the choices they are making????
how can they DO THAT????

and then it kinda hits us
we are 'them'
we all are...
in our own way

we are them

the daddy was never happy with the younger sons choices
it broke his heart to think of his son
living below what he was worth...
but you know what

you can know something

but until THEY know it
until it BECOMES TRUTH TO THEM
it won't matter to them...

the younger son
oh
he just wanted to
LIVE
be his own man

the older son
oh
he just wanted to
MATTER

the daddy
oh
the daddy
he just wanted both his boys
to party
because
the younger was HOME
the older ALWAYS had been
and they both
had to realize the TRUTH
for them to 'come to their senses'
to know
whose they were...
and what was theirs ALL ALONG

and that
home is where the heart is
and your heart will never
be happy
anywhere else

so come on home
there is a party waiting for you

come to your senses...