The Lord relented from the disaster promised based on the
repentance of the people. Not only did
the destruction of the land not occur, instead there was blessing and
restoration of the years that were lost to them. There is that old promise that gets quoted so
often from 2 Chronicles 7, "if my people who are called by my
name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their
wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal
their land." That promise was made
in connection with the dedication and consecration of the first temple in
Solomon's day. Joel's call for the fast
was based in that promise. We don't have
a "land" of our own so how could we think about this in the context
of the church today? Does the promise have
any meaning for the church or is it only applicable to Israel?
The prodigal desired to get his share of his father's estate
now, not when dad died, right now. In
other words, he was saying to his father, I wish you were dead, you mean
nothing to me other than the value of the assets I will receive upon your
death. He squandered all he received and
then hired himself out in an occupation that would be utterly detestable,
unthinkable even, to a Jewish man, caring for pigs. When he "came to himself" he
hatched a plan to improve his situation, return home repentant and offer
himself as a servant in his father's household.
He practiced his little speech and made his way home, surely amazed that
his father came running to greet him. He
begins his speech but doesn't get a chance to finish. The terms of reconciliation are up to the one
who was sinned against, not the sinner.
The father does more than could be asked or imagined in this regard, and
the older brother resented it. He had
kept the rules and been the dutiful son but never loved his father. The setting for the parable is important, tax
collectors and sinners were coming to Jesus like prodigals and the scribes and
Pharisees, the elder brothers, were angry.
Don't be the elder brother, don't let your righteousness cause you to
fail to enjoy being His child.
Can you even begin to relate to James' assertion that you
could be "perfect and complete"?
He says that testing produces steadfastness and that in its full effect
you will be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. I have had some tests to my faith and I know
that I am long, long way from being perfect and complete. I haven't, however, counted it all joy when
testing comes. This opening to the
letter surely calls us back to the Sermon on the Mount, reminding us that this
life is meant to be seen from God's perspective not our own ground level
view. It is easy to get ourselves caught
up in the moment rather than keeping the long view of it all. If our reward is in this life we miss
opportunities to grow into the image of Jesus.
We need that long range perspective of the difference between temporal
and eternal.
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