One of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes is entitled: "It's a Good Life." It starts out with the host, Rod Serling, standing on a dark stage with the map of the United States over his shoulder. Mr. Serling starts out:
"Tonight's story on the Twilight Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction" (referring to the map). "This, as you may recognize, is a map of the United States. There (he points to the map) is the little town of Peaksville. On a given morning not too long ago (the map goes dark ... except for Peaksville) the rest of the world disappeared and Peaksville was left all alone. The inhabitants were never sure if the world was destroyed and only Peaksville was left untouched ... or whether the village had somehow or other been taken away.
"The cause? A monster had arrived in the village. Just by using his mind, he took away the automobiles, the electricity, the machines because they displeased him and he moved an entire community back into the Dark Ages using just his mind."
Mr. Serling introduces us to several of the townspeople of Peaksville. The TV shows a sturdy looking farmer. "This is Mr. Fremont. It is in his farm house that the monster resides." Shows a typical 50's housewife in the kitchen. "And this is Mrs. Freemont." Mr. Serling goes on to point out: "You will notice that the people of Peaksville, Ohio, HAVE to smile ... they have to think 'happy' thoughts and say happy things because once displeased, the monster can wish them into a cornfield or change them into a grotesque, walking horror." Mr. Serling explains that "this particular monster can read minds. He knows every thought ... can feel every emotion.
"Oh, yes," Mr. Serling pauses, "I did forget something, didn't I? I forgot to introduce you to ... the monster." And they show a typical six-year-old boy swinging on a fence gate.
"His name is Anthony Freemont. He's a six-year-old boy with a cute little boy face ... blue, guileless eyes ... but when these eyes look at you, you'd better be thinking happy thoughts."
You'd be surprised at how many people see God this way ... not as some cute little six-year-old boy ... and they certainly wouldn't use the word "monster" because that would displease God ... but they do see God as someone who can read your mind, who knows you every thought, every emotion you're feeling, and if you don't think 'happy' thoughts all the time, well ... something's gonna happen to you. God is going to use His mind to zap you somehow. He might not turn you into a stalk of corn, like Anthony Freemont might, but He might take away your health or the health of someone you love. He might cause you to lose your house or your job ... or keep you from getting a job ... or winning the lottery ... because He's displeased. How many times have I had people ask me: "Why is God doing this to me?" How many times have I asked God that same question: "Why? What have I done?"
The prevalent view in Jesus' day was that leprosy and blindness and a whole host of diseases and illnesses were the result of God's wrath or some form of punishment from God. Remember the disciples asking Jesus why a man they saw in the street was blind. Was it because he sinned or his parents sinned (John 9:2)?
What is God really like?
The question for many of us ... Christians and non-Christians is not whether God exists. The question really is: "What kind of God do you believe in?"
There are many religions in the world that present many differing pictures of God. Is He the God of the Muslim terrorists, like ISIS? Does He reward murdering terrorists who highjack planes, destroy whole villages, and kill thousands of innocent people? Does He want all the infidels killed, even if it means strapping a bomb to your body and killing yourself?
Is He the impersonal God of the Deists? Deism teaches that God created the world like some cosmic watch maker, wound it up, set it in motion, but now sits by, uncaring or unable to get involved in His creation or the lives of individuals.
Hinduism teaches that there are an almost infinite number of gods and goddesses , but the greatest god, or the essence of God that makes up all the other gods and goddesses is Brahmin, the impersonal but all pervasive life fore in every person.
New-age religion teaches that God is the Life Force in everything, which is why they worship trees and crystals and even themselves.
Is that what God is like? Is He Allah? Is He the Watchtower God? Is He Brahmin? Is He "The Force" as Steven Spielburg suggests in Star Wars?
When we listen to what Jesus has to say about the heart and mind of God, we don't find an Anthony Freemont or the God of the terrorist, the dispassionate God of the Deists, or the mitochondrin of Star Wars. What we find, well ... I'll let Jesus tell you Himself.
[Read parable of the Prodigal Son; Luke 15:11-32.]
We all know this as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Does anyone know what "prodigal" means? It means "to waste." So, more accurately, this is the parable of "The Wasteful Son." I wish it were called "The Parable of the Vigilant Father." The main purpose of the parable is to teach us about the heart of God through the way that the father treats his two sons. Jesus is trying to teach us that the God of the universe is like the father in the story.
It is so, so important to understand who Jesus told this parable to. Let's go back to verse 1 of this chapter. "Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Him." Could these be the "prodigals"? But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were also gathered around Him. You know, the ones who keep the law ... who never disobey the Father. Are they the elder son in the story? "Elder" because they were and have been God's chosen for a very long time ... given the law ... are God's covenant people? The ones who were "always" with the Father and all that the Father had was always theirs?
This group, like the older brother in the parabel, were grumbling: "This fellow welcomes sinners ... and eats with them!" And how does Jesus end the parable? With a feast! A feast that the older brother refuses to attend. Well, actually, Jesus doesn't say whether the older brother goes ino or not because He wants the people listening to Him to answer that question for themselves. Will the Pharisees, will the teachers of the law ... will you, good Christian brothers and sisters ... accept the Father's invitation?
You see, the father in this parable clearly represents God, who is a loving father who will let you walk away from fellowship with Him if you desire ... but it breaks His Fatherly heart when you do so.
Some people believe that the prodigal son represents a person who has never been saved but you have to look a little closer at the parable. The prodigal son, the younger son is ... a son! He is someone who has a relationship with the father, his father! The younger son represents someone who already has a relationship with God and choses to walk away. "Father, give me my share of the estate" (Luke 15:12). Slaves don't inherit a share of the estate ... only the sons or relatives, those who have a familial relationship with the estate owner get a share, an inheritance.
God is our Father and we are His children. That's a fact ... nothing we can say or do will change that. You cannot severe your relationship with God ... but you can certainly break fellowship with Him. My daughter, Emily, will always be my daughter ... forever. She may leave home and never have anything to do with me ... and that would break my heart ... but she'll always be my daughter. The whole time that the prodigal son was away, he was still a son ... but he had left the presence of his father.
Christians, I believe, can do that too. Once you become a Christian, you are a child of God. He is your Heavenly Father and nothing can change that. But if you chose to rebel and disobey the Father, He will allow it. He will never leave you but if you walk out of fellowship with Him, He'll let you go. The God of the Universe has a message for you today. He is saying to you: "I love you so much that you are free to come and go as you please. I love you so much that I would never force you to stay in fellowship with me if you don't want to. If you are bound and determined to do something on your own, without me, I won't stop you, I won't coerce you to be obedient or loyal. I only want you to freely love and serve me."
Many years ago, before I was a pastror, I had a friend who was a deeply committed Christian. I have no doubt that he is a child of God but he got involved with a co-worker, committed adultery, and ended up leaving his family. Needless to say, he's miserable today and bitter towards God. One time he made a statement to me that, well, struck me as odd. He spoke of when he first starting getting involved with the "other woman" and, with obvious resent in his voice, asked me: "Why didn't God stop me? Doesn't God have all power? Couldn't He have warned me?" He could have stopped my friend, but He didn't.
God didn't stop that guy for the same reason He didn't stop Adam and Eve from eating the fruit. He didn't stop my friend for the same reason that He didn't stop King David from having an affair with Bathsheba. God didn't stop him for the same reason that the father in Jesus' parable didn't block the door and shout "Stop! I won't let you leave!"
That is not the nature of God. He loves you so much that He allows you to make your own choices even though He knows what the consequences will be ... and those of us who are parents know how incredibly hard and difficult that can be.
Jesus says that when the prodigal son got his money he went to a "distant land." When you hear that phrase, you should't think of somewhere a thousand miles away. Do you know where a "distant country" is? It is one step outside of God's will. It's not a matter of geography but a matter of a broken relationship with God.
The wayward son didn't fare so well in the far country. He squandered his wealth, or should I say, his father's wealth, on wild living. There's a lot that can be read into those words. With a pocket full of money, he headed straight for the casinos and the bars, where he wasted everything his father had given him ... hence the name "prodigal" or "wasteful" son.
He not only wasted all his money, he seaparated himself from every relationship that was important to him: his father, his brother, family and friends. All of that went out the window. He made a long string of bad decisions. That's how sin works ... one bad decision leads to another, amen? First you makea bad decision, then you tell a lie to cover it up ... and then another lie to cover that lie ... or make another bad decision to try and fix the first bad decision ... which only makes matters worse ... so you have to tell yet another lie ... and so on. Before you know it, you're 15 bad decisions and 20 lies down the road. Sin always leads to more sin, amen? At least that's been my experience.
Notice what happens in verse 14. There was a famine in the distant country. Whenever you leave God, there will be a faminine. The distant country always looks so good, like a land flowing with milk and honey. You enjoy the bright lights, the music, the novelty of it ... for awhile. But the money and the music run out and so do your friends ... and you find yourself broke and penniless and friendless in a bleak place. You end up in a place you never expected ... like a pig pen. He who had it all, lost it all. He who came from a good family now sleeps with the pigs. He had hit rock bottom.
At this point, Jesus says that the prodigal "came to his senses." What brought him to his senses? His stomach. He was hungry. Here's a startling truth: People often turn to the Lord simply because they have nowhere else to go. Their motives may be no more exalted than they need to find a hot meal and a warm place to stay on a cold night. But you know what? It's a starting point.
If the first step back home stemmed from his personal need, on his way home he had plenty of time to grapple with the root problem. He realizes that his fundamental need is not for food but for a restored relationship with his father. He's hungry now because many months ago he got greedy and left home. He's sleeping with the pigs because his of his pig-headeness, because he demanded to go his own way. Repentance means admitting that you are solely responsible for the mess you're in. You can't go back home until you admit that you were the one who left in the first place "I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: 'Father I have sinned against heaven and against you' (v. 18)."
You will know that you are really serious about changing your life when you stop making excuses. He could have found a thousand excuses, but he didn't. He simply confessed: "I have sinned." These words mark the beginning of a new life for this young man. When you stop making excuses for your failures, you are not far from a brand new life.
How did the father receive him?
The father's heart was broken. Everyday while his son was gone, the father thought about his son and wondered where he was and what he was doing. Each afternoon about sundown he would walk to the edge of his property , stand at the stone fence, and look down the road that had taken his son away.
Then one afternoon, he sees a bent over figure dragging along the road. It couldn't be his son because his son always had a spring his step and held his head high. This guy was dressed in rags. His son was always very particular about the way he looked.
But as he continued to look, there was something about this bedraggled spectacle that looked famliar. And then it hit him! This was his son! And he did an amazing thing. He jumped the stone fence and sprinted out to meet his son. Jesus said that while his son was still a long ways off, the father saw him and he was filled with compassion and ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. The Greek indicates that the father kept on kissing him, smothering his son with kisses.
In the Jewish culture, men wore long robes. In order for a man to run, he had to lift the hem up and hold it high to keep from tripping over it. In so doing, he would bare his legs, which was considered highly undignified. Men of respect never ran ... it would have been embarrassing. But can't you see this father grabbing handfuls of robe and running towards his son? He didn't wait for the son to reach him, he ran to meet the son. He hugged and kissed his wayward, rebellious son before the son said one word. Remember, the son had been working in the pig pens of the distant country. He must have looked and smelled aweful ... not exactly the kind of person you want to hug and kiss, amen?
Earthly kings didn't pull up their robes and run across a field to greet anybody. They sat on a throne and you had to avert your eyes and bow and scrape your way to their feet. But here is a delightful contrast ... almost comical if it weren't so filled with love. And isn't that what Jesus is? God in the flesh. God "lowering" Himself? Isn't Jesus God running to us from a long ways off, grabbing a handful of hem and running to the cross, arms wide to embrace us?
Do you sense that God is far away from you right now? God didn't walk away from you, my prodigal friend ... You have walked away from the Presence of your Heavenly Father. But God, who is your loving, Heavenly Father, is longing for you to return. Wayward child of God, He has a message for you today. With tender words of compassion, He is trying to tell you: "When you start home, I'll meet you more than half way."
What is God really like?
In the minds of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, how was the story supposed to end? Well, you may be surprised to know that Jesus took a much oder parable and re-told it ot reflect the truth of God's love. In the original story, the younger son ran away and spent all his father's money and when he came crawling home, the father rejected him.
As Jesus was telling the story, the Pharisees and teachers of the law were probably thinking: "Yeah, yeah .. we've heard this parable before." They expected it to end with the father standing at the door, arms crossed, telling the son, "Forget it! You had your chance. You chose to live like a pig ... so go back to your pigs. You made your bed, now go lie in it!"
The rabbis used to tell this particular parable to teach the importance of keeping God's laws. In fact, Deuteronomy 21:18-21 says: "If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey, his father and mother shall bring him to the elders and then the men shall stone him to death." The fact that the angry father chased him away rather than take him before the elders and have him stoned to death was more mercy than the stubborn and rebellious son deserved.
The older son represents all those right-thinking right-living, rule-keepers who wanted to see repentant sinners publicly punished to teach them a lesson. Just as the prodigal lives today so does the unhappy older brother.
Some of the people listening to Jesus tell this parable that day stood in the shoes of the older brother. How about you? Are you the older brother? Here are three ways that you can tell.
First ... you entertain or harbor a sense of being treated unfairly, "You never gave me a goat so I could have aparty with my friends" (v. 29). He felt like he had been ignored or forgotten. This feeling of unfair treatment is always the mark of a self-centered attiude. It is the sign of crushed pride, of wounded ego, revealing the centrality of "self." It's most common expreesion ... as this story brings out ... is that of anger and a "won't play" attitude. "I'm gonna take my marbles and go home!"
Next is an over-inflated view of self. Notice how the older brother describes his own superior qualities and advantages: "Look! All these years I've been slaving for you" (v. 29). From the older son's perspective, he's been the only one making contributions, making all the sacrifices. He seems to have forgotten how much his frather has helped him and taught him over the years, how much time and money his father's contributed.
"And I NEVER disobeyed your orders!' I know that's not a true statment. No one has ever lived up to that kind of standard. It is remarkable how easily he can conveniently forget the many times the father had forgiven him over the years. His view of himself is that of being completely and totally in the right. That is always a mark of self-righteousness.
And finally, we blame everyone, even God, for our unfair treatment. He blames his father and has nothing but contempt for his brother. "This son of YOURS..." You can hear the sarcasm, the cutting edge of contempt in his words. He doesn't call him "brother." He shows no joy or gladness for his broather's safe return. Rather, he rather views his own brother as something vile, as something despicable.
And there is no love or respect for the father. Did you notice how the father ends up with all the blame? It's ALL his fault. "You never even gave me a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But this son of yours who has squandered your property, you kill the fatted calf for HIM!" (v. 29-30).
Self-righteousness is one of the world's most deadly sins. Jesus dealt with it more severly and more sharply than any other sin. He could be tender, gracious, and accepting toward those who were involved in adultery or drunkeness but when he faced self-righteous Pharisees or their smug complacency, His words burned and seared and scorched!
This sin is deadly because it is so easily disguised as something justifiable. That is what's wrong with a self-righteuous spirit. There is a sense in which this son can be jsutified for his attitude. But that is always the mark of self-righteousness. Lost people are going to sin because they're lost. Christians are going to sin because we're not perfect. I've said this many times before but it bears repeating: Let's refuse to be angry with people who sin differently than we do, amen?
I want you to keep this very important thought in mind as we begin to close. The father loved both of his sons very, very much. Just as he went out to meet the returning rebel so he went out to seek his sulking son (v. 28). God the Father loves the self-righteous, the smug, the self-centered legalist as much as He loves the rebellious and defiant. When the father finds his older son, he does not scold, berate, or rebuke him harshly but rather pleads with him. The Greek indicates that the father invited his son to come join the party over and over and over again ... just as he kissed his prodigal son over and over and over again.
The father tells his son that everything he had was always available to him ... all he had to do was ask.. A self-righteous attitude frequently occurs in those who are sitting in the midst of great possibility but never claim it. They get upset when they see others, whom they feel don't deserve anything coming in and getting what they could have had but never asked for, never claimed ... which ought to show you that the older brother was every bit as lost as his prodigal sibling. He too was in a distant country .. a far country of the spriit .. far removed from his father's heart.
Jesus ends the story with the son standing outside the house. We don't know what happened next. He is nursing his wounded ego. Whether he repents and goes in and joins the party or not, we don't know. Jesus does not tell us what became of these two sons. He just leaves the ending hanging and He does this on purpose. Let me ask you ... where are you today? Which brother most represents you? Do you need to turn around and head back home? Or are you already home and need to come into the party?
Our Heavenly Father has enough grace for all of us. He's looking for prodigals and He's looking for the proud. He welcomes sorry sinners and smug saints, amen?
Let us pray.
