The Un-lost Son

Published: Jan. 25, 2020, midnight

b'Abidan stretched, looking toward the sun. It was setting, so he left the field and approached the house. He stopped, listening. That sounds like a party, he thought, waving over Baanah the servant. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153What\\u2019s going on tonight?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Abidan asked.\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Your brother has returned!\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Baanah said. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Your father has served the feasting calf to celebrate!\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Jabin\\u2019s back?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Abidan\\u2019s tone was angry.\\nBaanah nodded. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Shall I get your father?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Abidan only threw up his hands in frustration.\\nWhen Abidan saw his father coming, he turned away. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153What do you want?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153I want you to join the party. Please come see your brother. It\\u2019s been thirteen months.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153I know.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Abidan\\u2019s voice was strained. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153And I have been here. Working hard every day. Respecting you, always doing exactly what you\\u2019ve asked. I\\u2019ve given you everything, never once getting a goat to eat with my friends! Jabin runs off and wastes his inheritance. Upon his return, you restore him like he\\u2019s been a victim and I don\\u2019t even get told to leave the field early? Isn\\u2019t what I do enough to please you? The disobedient son gets all your love?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153My son, you are welcome to a goat and all I have!\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d said his father. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Abidan, you have not entrusted to me what I long for: your brokenness. You keep me at arm\\u2019s length all the time. You desire to be loved, but \\xe2\\u20ac\\u02dcdoing enough\\u2019 cannot earn what you want.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\nHis father continued. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Both my sons have been wrong in their perception of my love. One thought he could enjoy it by what he got from me, the other by what he could give to me. I celebrate Jabin\\u2019s return because he has come to discover what I will do with the truth about him, however ugly it might be. This is what I long for with you, Abidan. Will you come to the party, that I might celebrate the return of both my sons?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d \\n\\u2022 What was Jesus contrasting by His parable of the two brothers? \\n\\u2022 Does Jesus want us to clean ourselves up before we come to Him (John 15:3-4)? Can our works, status, or what we don\\u2019t do sustain our relationship with Christ (Luke 18:9-14)? \\nJesus replied to them, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Luke 5:31-32 (CSB)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nLuke 15:11-31'