Reclaiming the Truth
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’” – Luke 15.25-30
Redeeming the Time
At first read of the entire story, it seems like the younger son, the prodigal, is the worst offender. But if you read the words of Jesus, the people He rebukes the most are the self-righteous. He goes after the lost and gives grace and compassion to sheep who have lost their way. Like the older son, those who see themselves as more deserving because they feel they have earned their righteousness and favor, He heeds them great warning!
The sin of self-righteousness is the greatest killer of relationships, especially in marriages and in the church. It takes the focus off of a Good and Beautiful God and puts it on a person. It replaces love, grace and compassion, with earning, striving and performing. It is exactly the opposite of the Gospel. The Gospel is Good News that God has done for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He redeems us. He renews us. He restores us. What do we do? We receive what He has done for us.
The more we rest in and receive God’s love, grace, forgiveness, compassion, mercy, justice, blessing, etc., the more we are able to extend it to others. When we forget that, we are likely to miss the Gospel altogether.
Reflection
- Where have you seen self-righteousness hurt you or your relationships?
- What is it that makes us feel the need to earn and prove our righteousness?
- How might God be inviting you to be the Gospel in a current relationship or circumstance?
Resting in His Redemption
Rest and receive His truth in this verse of life.
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” – 1 John 4.7-12
