March 11, 2013
“He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.” Their grumbling triggered this story.” Luke 15:3 The Message
Jesus never got the “formula” right. He didn’t act religious. He didn’t spend a lot of time arguing theology. He didn’t act like the Messiah they were no longer expecting. In truth .. He fooled all of us and still does. He told a story and about two sons: One son wasted everything to find everything. The other son wasted away with everything. Here is the GOD who comes after you. He comes running while you’re still a mess. He doesn’t care what you look like .. smell like .. or sound like. He just wraps you up in his arms. That kind of GOD makes rule-keepers and score-keepers angry. They want a GOD who keeps score and rewards good behavior. But Jesus doesn’t stop with pig-feeders. He shows us a GOD who comes after both of us: the rule-breakers and the rule-keepers. Both of us need new hearts. One is sorry. One is stubborn. And your life is somewhere in this story. There are parts of you who that believe that God the Father would actually welcome you back home with all of your mess. There are parts of you that can’t stand the thought of God the Father being so soft over such waste. Jesus doesn’t end this story because He’s inviting you to see yourself .. and to open your heart to the GOD who wants you back home .. and the GOD who wants you to come inside and celebrate. When you’ve been around pigs, the smell doesn’t wash off easily. When you’ve done everything right for a long time, it’s hard to feel joy and let yourself relax. The life Jesus wants you to have is the life He wants to live in you. He’ll run down any road to embrace you and kiss you. He’ll search high and low to invite you to come inside and celebrate. He loves to treat sinners like “old friends”. And that’s where the story begins with you … and it only takes a moment …
“When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. … The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk ad refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen.” Luke 15:20, 28 The Message
Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Pig-farmers and Firstborn-heirs following Jesus and friends of Priority One (KchesterP1@gmail.com)
