WEBVTT 00:00:00.740 --> 00:00:04.700 Rumor has it, I'm now middle -aged. Oh my goodness. 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:08.539 Yep, yep, Friday I turned 45. This is thrilling. 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:12.539 I promise you, as soon, like right at that day, 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:15.980 I saw extra gray hairs sprouting out the sides 00:00:15.980 --> 00:00:18.399 of my head. They were there, fully formed, fully 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:22.339 grown, okay? Just out of nowhere. So, yes, oh 00:00:22.339 --> 00:00:25.820 my goodness. Now, besides, you know, my hip hurting 00:00:25.820 --> 00:00:28.019 and kind of wondering if I need new glasses, 00:00:28.539 --> 00:00:31.500 everything else, is that... I have to also realize 00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:34.380 though that my sister is always grateful that 00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:37.119 I'm the older one. So wherever it is that I'm 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:40.920 at, she can always say she's just a little bit 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:44.740 younger. Here's the thing with this though is 00:00:44.740 --> 00:00:47.579 that you know the older sibling younger sibling 00:00:47.579 --> 00:00:50.159 thing and you always have to have this kind of 00:00:50.159 --> 00:00:52.579 back and forth and you know the older sibling 00:00:52.579 --> 00:00:55.719 is always like I can never get away with anything 00:00:55.719 --> 00:00:58.299 and the younger sibling is I have no idea what 00:00:58.299 --> 00:01:02.079 you're talking about our parents love us so Yeah, 00:01:02.200 --> 00:01:04.560 yeah, yeah, you can tell who's the older sibling 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:07.200 and then there's the younger one I swear the 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:09.540 younger sibling always spoiled, right? Right? 00:01:09.700 --> 00:01:11.819 Younger siblings always, well, I see her looking 00:01:11.819 --> 00:01:14.939 at you. Yeah. So, now, that's the thing with 00:01:14.939 --> 00:01:18.519 this, is that this feeling of what it is that 00:01:18.519 --> 00:01:23.439 different siblings see in this parable, in many 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:26.840 ways, it almost reveals more about us than it 00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:31.340 does about what Jesus is trying to say. And that's 00:01:31.340 --> 00:01:33.400 the thing about being an older sibling, is that 00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:36.640 when we look at this story, it's kind of difficult. 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:40.159 Because you kind of wonder, Was the older sibling 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:43.780 really all that wrong? But, you know, the thing 00:01:43.780 --> 00:01:47.319 about a parable, though, is that a parable, it's 00:01:47.319 --> 00:01:50.640 not meant to be an actual story. It's not literal. 00:01:50.819 --> 00:01:54.379 It's not direct. It's meant to get across a point, 00:01:54.500 --> 00:01:57.780 a message. So when we're looking at this, is 00:01:57.780 --> 00:02:00.819 that it's trying to see what image Jesus is trying 00:02:00.819 --> 00:02:05.640 to communicate. But as we see that, we might 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:09.680 have to pause and say, the feelings that we have 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:13.439 as we read this story, maybe they're more relevant 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:16.740 to what Jesus was trying to get across in the 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:20.330 first place. We see all the characters that are 00:02:20.330 --> 00:02:22.870 in here. Where should we start? And I think that 00:02:22.870 --> 00:02:24.849 we should go ahead and start where Jesus did. 00:02:25.069 --> 00:02:28.430 And we need to take a look at the younger son. 00:02:28.669 --> 00:02:31.289 Because let's just be honest, younger siblings 00:02:31.289 --> 00:02:33.930 are always starting trouble. Right? Right? All 00:02:33.930 --> 00:02:36.069 the older kids, right? It's always the younger 00:02:36.069 --> 00:02:39.650 one. And for all of you, like only children, 00:02:40.310 --> 00:02:42.110 you're definitely a younger child. Okay? I'm 00:02:42.110 --> 00:02:44.189 just saying. You definitely were spoiled. Definitely 00:02:44.189 --> 00:02:47.699 were spoiled. But, you know, when we see this 00:02:47.699 --> 00:02:50.379 part is that we don't just see someone who's 00:02:50.379 --> 00:02:53.539 older sibling, younger sibling, but rather we 00:02:53.539 --> 00:02:57.360 see someone who is completely disconnected with 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:01.680 love and compassion for his father. See, that's 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:03.500 one of the things that's so strange here is that 00:03:03.500 --> 00:03:07.800 in our story, the younger son actually wants 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:12.479 the father dead. What do I mean by that? Well, 00:03:12.599 --> 00:03:15.580 notice on here is what does he do in going to 00:03:15.580 --> 00:03:19.139 the father? I want my inheritance. But let me 00:03:19.139 --> 00:03:22.639 ask you, do you normally get an inheritance when 00:03:22.639 --> 00:03:26.500 the parents are actually still with you? No. 00:03:27.259 --> 00:03:30.400 It's a strange story. It's meant to be a strange 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:35.120 story. This is not typical. But the son isn't 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:39.120 really interested in his father. or being with 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:42.259 him, all he wants is what he feels is coming 00:03:42.259 --> 00:03:46.340 his way. What am I going to be getting? And so 00:03:46.340 --> 00:03:49.419 in looking at this, is that he realizes that 00:03:49.419 --> 00:03:54.099 there's no respect. There's no actual relationship 00:03:54.099 --> 00:03:58.360 there. Now, this young man wants to go out and 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:01.740 live however he wishes. So he demands that, and 00:04:01.740 --> 00:04:04.479 the father gives it to him. Now this should already 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:07.669 be a strange story. Why would he go ahead and 00:04:07.669 --> 00:04:10.849 do that? Well, he goes ahead and takes a third 00:04:10.849 --> 00:04:14.050 of what he has. Because remember, first born 00:04:14.050 --> 00:04:17.569 child gets a double portion, and then the other 00:04:17.569 --> 00:04:20.069 children get their own allotment. So he divides 00:04:20.069 --> 00:04:22.889 it into thirds, and the double portion would 00:04:22.889 --> 00:04:25.129 go to the oldest, and then the third portion 00:04:25.129 --> 00:04:30.209 goes to the younger son. So he's getting a third 00:04:30.209 --> 00:04:35.189 of land, property, deeds, possessions, money. 00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:39.019 all these things. Does he really want to take 00:04:39.019 --> 00:04:42.939 care of them? No. He liquidates as quickly and 00:04:42.939 --> 00:04:46.379 as fast as he can because he wants to go and 00:04:46.379 --> 00:04:49.360 he wants to be done here. He wants to go and 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:52.959 live however he wishes. And this reminds us that 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:56.199 we need to make sure we understand what prodigal 00:04:56.199 --> 00:05:00.019 really means. Prodigal does not mean the wanderer. 00:05:00.110 --> 00:05:02.850 Okay, like we used to have a joke whenever I 00:05:02.850 --> 00:05:05.550 was like going off to China and I was overseas 00:05:05.550 --> 00:05:08.509 and my mom was like, well, okay, I guess there's 00:05:08.509 --> 00:05:11.769 the prodigal son. And I'm like, do we know what 00:05:11.769 --> 00:05:14.730 prodigal actually means? Because prodigal is 00:05:14.730 --> 00:05:20.189 actually a sotos in the Greek. So it's a for 00:05:20.189 --> 00:05:25.529 not and sotos from sozo meaning save or preserve. 00:05:25.870 --> 00:05:29.319 So the one who does not preserve. Because he 00:05:29.319 --> 00:05:31.319 doesn't just try to get the best deal he can 00:05:31.319 --> 00:05:33.639 get for things he sells it as quick and as fast 00:05:33.639 --> 00:05:37.220 as he can because he's ready to go and he goes 00:05:37.220 --> 00:05:41.579 off and just Spends it all on anything and everything 00:05:41.579 --> 00:05:45.560 he wants anything at that moment in time The 00:05:45.560 --> 00:05:48.040 whole community now realizes how worthless he 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:50.540 really is. Well, he's not planning to come back 00:05:50.540 --> 00:05:55.120 anyway But then what ends up happening when you 00:05:55.120 --> 00:05:59.740 just spend everything without concern soon enough 00:05:59.740 --> 00:06:03.540 you're left with nothing and then of course hard 00:06:03.540 --> 00:06:06.000 times happen and that's one of the funny parts 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:07.800 is that it's like he's just going to go off and 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:10.560 have as much fun as he can and he's not even 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:12.500 considering wait I'm in a completely different 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:15.180 land where I don't really know people and of 00:06:15.180 --> 00:06:19.019 course whatever friends he had found weren't 00:06:19.019 --> 00:06:22.360 really his friends after all and there he is 00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:27.269 dealing with the consequences and he's off Feeding 00:06:27.269 --> 00:06:29.910 pigs and and I don't know if you quite realize 00:06:29.910 --> 00:06:33.670 why that's so big of a detail right now Because 00:06:33.670 --> 00:06:37.050 remember the audience listening to Jesus They 00:06:37.050 --> 00:06:39.850 would never be caught dead anywhere near the 00:06:39.850 --> 00:06:43.949 pigs. They're Jewish No one's gonna be raising 00:06:43.949 --> 00:06:48.470 pigs But with that even though they have no interest 00:06:48.470 --> 00:06:50.689 in in anything to do with the pigs because they 00:06:50.689 --> 00:06:54.579 are so unclean He has nothing else to do He's 00:06:54.579 --> 00:06:56.899 feeding them for what little he can get but he's 00:06:56.899 --> 00:06:59.220 still so hungry He sees what they're going to 00:06:59.220 --> 00:07:03.040 eat and he wants even what the pigs are about 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:08.180 to eat He's desperate So he starts coming up 00:07:08.180 --> 00:07:12.759 with an idea You know the servants for my father 00:07:12.759 --> 00:07:17.160 They do pretty well for themselves. I can't be 00:07:17.160 --> 00:07:20.000 his son anymore But he's got to have another 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:22.500 job out there. There's got to be something where 00:07:22.589 --> 00:07:25.389 At least he'd let me have a job with him. So 00:07:25.389 --> 00:07:28.949 let me work on my speech, okay? My little elevator 00:07:28.949 --> 00:07:30.709 speech. I'm gonna go over there and make sure 00:07:30.709 --> 00:07:32.709 I present it all to him. And I'm gonna convince 00:07:32.709 --> 00:07:36.389 him to hire me on. It should be okay. How terrible 00:07:36.389 --> 00:07:41.050 was this guy? This person is as wretched of a 00:07:41.050 --> 00:07:44.230 person as the community there could have imagined. 00:07:44.470 --> 00:07:47.029 As Jesus sharing this parable, this is a person 00:07:47.029 --> 00:07:50.189 you would hate. Throws everything in his father's 00:07:50.189 --> 00:07:53.490 face. does not care anything about the community 00:07:53.490 --> 00:07:57.050 and Instead wants to just come back and still 00:07:57.050 --> 00:08:00.250 get something from his dad as a hired servant 00:08:00.250 --> 00:08:06.790 He ends up coming back He doesn't even get his 00:08:06.790 --> 00:08:11.800 entire speech out because what do we see? Does 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:14.720 the Father have any interest in taking on a new 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:18.379 servant? Oh good, I'm so glad you got over here 00:08:18.379 --> 00:08:20.839 because I really need somebody else to go and 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:23.040 till the ground and take care of the sheep. That 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:25.259 would be wonderful. You know what's interesting 00:08:25.259 --> 00:08:28.019 though is that that's kind of what the Pharisees 00:08:28.019 --> 00:08:31.019 would have been expecting. They would have been 00:08:31.019 --> 00:08:33.519 expecting that the younger son could come back 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:38.399 and earn his way back into the Father's graces. 00:08:39.700 --> 00:08:44.440 But Jesus surprises them. The father just goes 00:08:44.440 --> 00:08:47.580 running up to him, wraps his arms around him, 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:54.399 and says, my son is alive. My son. The person 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:57.200 who had disowned the father, who had run away, 00:08:57.460 --> 00:09:01.720 and the father still loves him passionately. 00:09:02.220 --> 00:09:05.679 And goes and makes sure that there is a feast 00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:07.379 to celebrate, because that's the thing about 00:09:07.379 --> 00:09:10.820 the father. The father isn't worried about all 00:09:10.820 --> 00:09:14.139 the things in the past. The father is just grateful 00:09:14.139 --> 00:09:17.440 his son's alive. He didn't know whatever happened 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:22.820 to him. But then that part of the story ends 00:09:22.820 --> 00:09:26.919 up taking us to our second character. We end 00:09:26.919 --> 00:09:31.559 up looking at the older son. And I have to be 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:36.159 honest with you, is that I've kind of been here 00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:38.940 before. You see, I don't know, it was like 9 00:09:38.940 --> 00:09:43.080 or 10, somewhere in there. And my dad said, hey, 00:09:43.399 --> 00:09:46.279 I was thinking we should invite some of your 00:09:46.279 --> 00:09:50.000 classmates to go play video games. We're going 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:53.139 to go find a spot. They had some slushies, little 00:09:53.139 --> 00:09:55.820 iceys over there, you know? And you just got 00:09:55.820 --> 00:09:57.519 to hope that nobody was trying to drink from 00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:00.120 under the nozzle. And we were going to go play 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:03.840 some video games and have a great time. And I 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:11.559 was angry. Why was I angry? Because the guys 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:14.220 that my dad wanted to invite from my elementary 00:10:14.220 --> 00:10:17.220 school were the ones who had been giving me the 00:10:17.220 --> 00:10:20.500 hardest time. The ones that picked on me, the 00:10:20.500 --> 00:10:23.200 ones that didn't really have any interest in 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:27.320 me whatsoever. And here's the thing, my dad and 00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:29.659 I hadn't been going to that place to play video 00:10:29.659 --> 00:10:32.580 games before then. But now we were gonna go. 00:10:34.060 --> 00:10:37.320 Thanks a lot. I really appreciate that now granted 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:40.480 did I ever ask to go play video games before 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:44.440 this no Was I going to be able to go with them 00:10:44.440 --> 00:10:49.679 to play video games? Absolutely Was my dad trying 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:54.440 his best? To mentor the next generation So they 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:59.759 would become better people Absolutely But there 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:07.740 I was Absolutely livid As I am realizing this 00:11:07.740 --> 00:11:12.340 story, I cannot help but feel I'm like that older 00:11:12.340 --> 00:11:16.940 son. And what's sad is that in our story is that 00:11:16.940 --> 00:11:18.980 what's even more convicting is that the older 00:11:18.980 --> 00:11:21.799 son doesn't really have any use for the dad. 00:11:22.740 --> 00:11:24.799 See the thing is is that when we see the beginning 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:27.419 of the story and the father is dividing up everything 00:11:27.419 --> 00:11:31.019 he has, did the older son try to come in and 00:11:31.019 --> 00:11:35.320 negotiate or stop things from happening? No, 00:11:35.320 --> 00:11:39.759 he just took what was being given to him. The 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:44.639 older son is not interested as much in the father 00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:48.460 as much as what he's getting. And that's the 00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:53.820 thing about this is that he sees the reward as 00:11:53.820 --> 00:11:56.720 the effort that he put in. And I don't know, 00:11:57.279 --> 00:12:01.240 maybe it's just like an older kid thing or maybe 00:12:01.240 --> 00:12:03.950 it's for everybody and... Older kids just think 00:12:03.950 --> 00:12:07.149 that, you know, we're better somehow. Right? 00:12:08.549 --> 00:12:12.409 But what's amazing, though, is how often many 00:12:12.409 --> 00:12:16.049 of us, as children to our parents, we somehow 00:12:16.049 --> 00:12:18.210 think that the harder we work, the more that 00:12:18.210 --> 00:12:21.590 we do, that somehow we're proving something to 00:12:21.590 --> 00:12:26.169 them. And that maybe just a little bit more will 00:12:26.169 --> 00:12:28.529 receive what we think that we're really entitled 00:12:28.529 --> 00:12:32.799 to. But it's more than just the reward. It's 00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:36.399 almost like the older son feels that he has the 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:40.600 right to decide whether his father loves his 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:47.220 second son. How dare you? But you know, what's 00:12:47.220 --> 00:12:50.019 funny about this is that he's completely missing 00:12:50.019 --> 00:12:53.299 out on the whole situation. And the father is 00:12:53.299 --> 00:12:55.899 making sure to say this, you're always with me. 00:12:56.019 --> 00:12:58.799 Did you notice he started with that? He doesn't 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:02.809 start with everything I own is yours. Because 00:13:02.809 --> 00:13:06.250 it is Everything now because it's been divided 00:13:06.250 --> 00:13:09.149 up will now be the oldest sons But he doesn't 00:13:09.149 --> 00:13:14.769 start with that He starts off and saying you 00:13:14.769 --> 00:13:21.049 were always with me Because that was the actual 00:13:21.049 --> 00:13:26.830 blessing Is to still be with the father And the 00:13:26.830 --> 00:13:32.100 son completely missed it See the father He wasn't 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:34.779 really focused on whether or not one of the sons 00:13:34.779 --> 00:13:38.120 had hurt him. He was just so happy that that 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:41.600 son was alive. But the truth is that it's the 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:44.559 same thing with the older son. Is that there 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:50.419 he is realizing that that older son is so angry 00:13:50.419 --> 00:13:52.620 that he's missing out on what he's received as 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:55.960 well. And that he doesn't really care as much 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:58.820 about him. See, that's the thing. The older son 00:13:58.820 --> 00:14:00.879 could totally join in on the celebration. He 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:03.019 could probably invite his friends too, but what's 00:14:03.019 --> 00:14:06.519 the actual issue? He's mad at the reason why 00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:11.179 they're having the party. How dare you do this 00:14:11.179 --> 00:14:17.179 for that guy? And this is where Jesus is meeting 00:14:17.179 --> 00:14:23.019 the teachers of the law. He knows that they know 00:14:23.019 --> 00:14:28.769 that He's welcoming. The outsiders the Gentiles 00:14:28.769 --> 00:14:34.190 the fallen away Jews Samaritans They know that 00:14:34.190 --> 00:14:36.230 he's welcoming the people who don't deserve this 00:14:36.230 --> 00:14:42.629 at all and they are angry Did God ever take the 00:14:42.629 --> 00:14:47.490 blessing away From the Jewish community or from 00:14:47.490 --> 00:14:52.929 the teachers of the law no But he wanted to open 00:14:52.929 --> 00:14:57.720 it up for everyone else And that's where we truly 00:14:57.720 --> 00:15:03.100 find the key figure. Our third person, the father. 00:15:04.580 --> 00:15:07.480 Because no matter what his children are doing, 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:14.379 every response that the father has had has been 00:15:14.379 --> 00:15:18.919 loving. His son wants whatever he has coming 00:15:18.919 --> 00:15:23.610 to him, he gives it to him. His son comes back 00:15:23.610 --> 00:15:27.090 just hoping for a place to be and he welcomes 00:15:27.090 --> 00:15:31.269 his back as a son. The older one is so distracted 00:15:31.269 --> 00:15:33.990 by his anger and jealousy and frustration that 00:15:33.990 --> 00:15:39.250 he ignores even respecting his father and his 00:15:39.250 --> 00:15:43.070 decisions and doesn't even pick up on how much 00:15:43.070 --> 00:15:47.529 the father had blessed him. But the father still 00:15:47.529 --> 00:15:52.210 wants him to come to the party. How often is 00:15:52.210 --> 00:15:57.570 it that we see our children that are so upset 00:15:57.570 --> 00:16:01.029 and making life difficult and yet we still want 00:16:01.029 --> 00:16:05.289 them there? Instead of looking for the son to 00:16:05.289 --> 00:16:08.309 prove himself, the father was already full of 00:16:08.309 --> 00:16:11.809 love and compassion. Instead of being focused 00:16:11.809 --> 00:16:15.970 on whether or not he'd been hurt, he's just grateful 00:16:15.970 --> 00:16:20.570 for life to come to this young man. And even 00:16:20.570 --> 00:16:23.870 knowing how the older son has disrespected him, 00:16:24.409 --> 00:16:28.909 he still loves him too. But isn't that the thing 00:16:28.909 --> 00:16:33.049 that we see in our world today? We see the ways 00:16:33.049 --> 00:16:36.769 in which people have acted cocky, conceited, 00:16:37.090 --> 00:16:40.210 entitled. We see the times in which they have 00:16:40.210 --> 00:16:44.070 wasted their life, made a mess of things, and 00:16:44.070 --> 00:16:46.990 they need to get what's coming to them. Or even 00:16:46.990 --> 00:16:50.029 more than that, If you're not already a part 00:16:50.029 --> 00:16:53.649 of our group, how dare you take something from 00:16:53.649 --> 00:16:59.809 us? We don't realize how blessed we are in our 00:16:59.809 --> 00:17:02.490 world, in our community, our nation, where we 00:17:02.490 --> 00:17:07.009 are. But we're continually saying that if a blessing 00:17:07.009 --> 00:17:10.769 goes to somebody else, that that means that somehow 00:17:10.769 --> 00:17:15.430 we're deprived. Instead of realizing just how 00:17:15.430 --> 00:17:20.130 much God blesses us, through the world around 00:17:20.130 --> 00:17:26.569 us as He reveals Himself to us all. Because the 00:17:26.569 --> 00:17:29.890 more that we see and experience grace and nurturing, 00:17:31.089 --> 00:17:34.309 the more that God's name is praised. Because 00:17:34.309 --> 00:17:37.430 that's the thing, is that the grace and the nurture 00:17:37.430 --> 00:17:42.970 were given to both sons. Because both of them 00:17:42.970 --> 00:17:48.690 needed love and forgiveness. Neither one of them 00:17:48.690 --> 00:17:52.630 was ever realizing how much they needed the Father's 00:17:52.630 --> 00:17:56.910 love. But it was only the Father's love that 00:17:56.910 --> 00:17:59.910 could truly restore either one of them. See, 00:17:59.910 --> 00:18:02.890 that's the thing. The Father was never looking 00:18:02.890 --> 00:18:05.710 to reject either one of them. It wasn't, oh, 00:18:05.730 --> 00:18:08.369 you know what? You're really the good son. You're 00:18:08.369 --> 00:18:10.650 the one who really needs all of my attention 00:18:10.650 --> 00:18:15.329 and my love. Or even, oh, you're the rebel, man. 00:18:15.559 --> 00:18:17.759 You know what? You're cool. I'm going to love 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:20.220 you. I don't know that boring older son. Just 00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:23.519 kind of go over and do your own thing. This is 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:28.779 really a man who has room in his life for all 00:18:28.779 --> 00:18:31.839 of them. And that's the thing that we end up 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:35.759 realizing is that in a world where all of us 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:39.119 need the father, is the problem is that we've 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:42.779 all been the prodigal. We've all been the prodigal 00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:45.920 who at some point has wasted what we've been 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:48.559 given. There have been times where we've wasted 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:51.420 the time, the energy, whatever it is that God 00:18:51.420 --> 00:18:54.059 has blessed us with on things that don't matter. 00:18:55.059 --> 00:18:57.940 And yet He still keeps welcoming us back and 00:18:57.940 --> 00:19:01.700 showing us what does matter. But we've also had 00:19:01.700 --> 00:19:04.339 the times when we've acted like the older one. 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:07.619 And somehow figuring out why it is that we've 00:19:07.619 --> 00:19:12.539 earned what we've got, and how dare anyone else 00:19:12.539 --> 00:19:17.650 receive the same. And so in these moments is 00:19:17.650 --> 00:19:21.069 that we realize though, that we've all been at 00:19:21.069 --> 00:19:25.230 a place where we should be grateful. Because 00:19:25.230 --> 00:19:27.849 we, everything that we've been given was only 00:19:27.849 --> 00:19:29.990 because of grace. Because did either of those 00:19:29.990 --> 00:19:35.589 two sons ever truly start with nothing? They 00:19:35.589 --> 00:19:40.049 always started as children of the Father. And 00:19:40.049 --> 00:19:42.440 that's the thing where we are today. As we're 00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:45.220 in the season of Lent, and as we pause from the 00:19:45.220 --> 00:19:47.960 things that we take for granted, where we take 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:49.880 a step back and say, is this really something 00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:53.319 that I was always entitled to? Or is it really 00:19:53.319 --> 00:19:55.799 something where I'm grateful to God and asking 00:19:55.799 --> 00:19:59.519 how he's blessing me? Is that instead to realize 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:01.299 that that's the same thing for the rest of our 00:20:01.299 --> 00:20:05.880 world? There is no one in this world, here or 00:20:05.880 --> 00:20:09.180 anywhere, that God does not wish to bless with 00:20:09.180 --> 00:20:13.660 his grace and his mercy. So as we pause long 00:20:13.660 --> 00:20:16.619 enough to realize that what we have received 00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:21.700 is also for others to receive as well, may we 00:20:21.700 --> 00:20:25.319 be willing to let go of that anger. Long enough 00:20:25.319 --> 00:20:27.359 to realize that the party that God is throwing 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:30.619 for them is a party that we get to take part 00:20:30.619 --> 00:20:35.259 in as well. Because we all get to share in gratitude 00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:39.980 for ourselves, but also for our fellow human 00:20:39.980 --> 00:20:43.450 beings. who are now a part of the kingdom of 00:20:43.450 --> 00:20:49.250 God by His grace. Someday, that party will be 00:20:49.250 --> 00:20:53.369 epic, with or without the video games. Thanks 00:20:53.369 --> 00:20:53.890 be to God.