Careful What You Ask For… and Whom!

Luke 15:11-16 And He said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. 

Dad didn’t say, “NO!”

He didn’t try to guilt the boy into changing his mind.

He didn’t run after him and “helicopter” his environment, trying to make the boy’s life perfect in his own eyes.

He stayed home and __________________.

Waited… watched… ?prayed… ?grieved…

I don’t know how you would fill in the blank, but I would say, “He leaned into his own misery, to give his son the gift of becoming the person he was meant to become.”

I have to believe the Dad would have preferred for the son stay in the safe cocoon of love and wealth. I know, as a parent one of the hardest tasks I ever had to perform (over and over again) was setting aside my dreams/imaginations and allowing my little eaglets to fly into their world.

Deuteronomy 32:11 “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions. 

As a parent we do all of the above (Wait… watch… pray… grieve…) while our little ones are growing into the future pilots of their own lives. For most of us, we secretly wish we could lock them into our seatbelt and NEVER LET THEM FLY on their own.

But God…

God is the example of a “Good, Good Father”!

God created in us the desire and demand for becoming. He gave us the power and authority and RESPONSIBILITY to freely choose to grow up and into His special creation – a human. Hebrews 2:7-8 “You have made him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and have appointed him over the works of Your hands; You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” (obviously WE lost the subjection part when we sinned, but Jesus NEVER lost it!)

Though with some people it is hard to tell, we are not now nor ever been an animal – a beast of the field. Every human – man, woman, and child, was created to rule over our world (Genesis 1:26-31) AND walk with God in the cool of the day. (Genesis 3:8)

An INHERITANCE of stunning magnitude!

Soooooo… when we ask for “our share” of the inheritance (like the little brother in our original Scripture) we are asking for something HOLY and AWESOME. All of us, every human on the planet, asks demands their portion. But, is there any of us that know what to do with it (rhetorical question)… we are convinced we are to SPEND it in satisfying all of our immediate needs insatiable wants? Especially in the United States of America!

We are so blessed in this country, even the poorest of poor, have the freedom to pursue. We all imagine that the inheritance is the fruit of pursuit (all the good things in life) but the inheritance… the REAL INHERITANCE… is the ability to pursue. We choose the direction – the desired goals – our preferred destination. But the inheritance is our life!

Every human on this earth has been given BY GOD the will, the ability, and the command to pursue life. America is uniquely blessed because our foundation is built on giving its citizens the freedom and opportunity to pursue the “good” life. Unfortunately, America has also been given the temptation (like our young friend in the opening Scripture) to believe that our inheritance is not only ours by “right”, it is unlimited – even given our foolish use of it, and it is protected by our imagined immortality.

We ASK for our inheritance and then SPEND it in a delirious drunken state of privilege. In America we are currently going through the “righteous demand” for MORE… and MORE… and MORE. We see what we want, who has it, and then plan how we can get it.

Without thinking of the consequences, the accountability of becoming the steward of each and every privilege, we blame… SOMEONE doesn’t want us to be happy! SOMEONE hates us! SOMEONE doesn’t know WHO I AM!

Without regard for our neighbors who may have a true need, we scream… “It’s should be MINE! If we are ignored or told, “There is no more!”… we incite others to join us in an attempt to intimidate those who have, EVEN if it must be taken from those who need.

Our founding fathers believed that God gives each of us LIFE… LIBERTY (the breath to pursue)… and the PURSUIT of happiness. We demand our right to define that happiness! We demand it be tweaked to our personal specifications.

Just as the Father and son in our Scripture, we ask for our inheritance and God gives us our inheritance.

Careful what you ask for.

Someday there will be an account of that life you have been given. Will you spend it in a drunken state of believing yourself to be all-powerful and immortal?

Will you end up in a pig sty like our younger brother?

And if you do… what will you do then? Will you give yourself to the slavery of your insatiable demands and continue eating the pigs slop?

Or will you humble yourself, realizing your Father is under NO OBLIGATION to fix your foolishness, and return as a servant to the One who has the whole world in His hands?

Careful what you ask for.

More importantly, be careful of WHO you ask, for they will be your Master forever more.

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.

Joshua 24:15 If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Whom will you spend your inheritance (life) on?

?Yourself… you ended up (or will eventually) in the pig pen (just saying).

?This world… the Prince of this world, Satan, with all the fiery arrows of temptation he can use, wishes to destroy and then devour you.

?God – our Good, Good Father… Luke 15:20 But while (you) was still a long way off, (your) father (sees you) and (feels) compassion for (you) and (runs) and (embraces you) and (kisses you).

Now this is HAPPINESS… this is LIFE…

Luke 15:22-24 But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate. 

We are FREE to pursue Him… now this is a life worth LIVING!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible