BONUS Redefining the Past: The Diary of the Prodigal Son - Stephen

  

 “The Diary of the Prodigal Son”

(Luke 15:11-32)

 

 

Second Day of Harvest Month, Eighteenth Year

 

I can’t believe what happened today! My father said, “Yes!” Finally! He agreed to let me have my inheritance early! I told him I wouldn’t take “no” for an answer this time. And instead of grounding me…again…or lecturing me on respect and honor He said “Yes!” I couldn’t…CAN’T believe it! So tomorrow I’m leaving this place! No more work. No more being told what to do. No more religious rules. I’m free! This is going to be great! My older brother will be angry but what else is new? He’ll probably just be mad he didn’t ask first. Now all the work is his and I am on my way.

 

Third Day of Harvest Month, Eighteenth Year

 

So, I left this morning. Like I really left home and I couldn’t be more excited! I realized I didn’t have a plan so I thought of one that will forever prove my family’s old-fashioned values wrong. Father has always taught us out of the Ancient Writings and the one he always held over our heads was this one called Ecclesiastes. He said it would teach us about what we should desire in this life. It actually has a list of these things all of us Jewish boys are dying to do that it has to call vanity, like worthless. I feel like my father and all the other grayheads in this old town had a part in writing that book so they could keep us from all of that fun—which means more time on the farm. So away from the farm means proving these “vanities” of Ecclesiastes wrong. Tomorrow my Vanity Voyage begins! 

 

Fourth Day of Harvest Month, Eighteenth Year

 

WHAT A DAY!! Where I used to consider the writer of Ecclesiastes my enemy, I now consider him my greatest friend! I mean his list starts with wisdom as vanity (and on that one I’d have to agree) so I moved on to the next one: wine! I bought up a bunch of it in this city I have found myself in and boom—the people and friends just showed up! You talk about a party! I stayed up way past my bedtime. The sun was even down before I hit that pillow! A headache this morning was worth the fun and excitement of last night! Let the Vanity Voyage continue!! Oh, and thank you father for paying for it all.

 

Tenth Day of Harvest Month, Eighteenth Year

 

The parties are just getting bigger and better! Yeah, I have to pay for them, but I mean the house, the pool, the wine, the women, and I think there were some guys there too! What a week it’s been! This idea that money and being known is vanity and empty is the biggest tale in the story of life! I mean what happened to “thou shalt not bear false witness”? Because that’s exactly what the writer of Ecclesiastes is doing. Vanity? Ha! Here I am living my best life with no one to tell me what to do and someone dares to call that worthless. The only thing empty about this trip is going to be my pocket full of money here soon. But I’ll worry about that when it happens. I’m sure my new friends won’t mind pitching in after all of these great parties I’ve thrown! 

 

Twentieth Day of Harvest Month, Eighteenth Year

 

It’s been ten days since I wrote last. I’m busy looking for a job but with no luck. I thought my friends would help me once my money ran out, but I can’t seem to catch them at a good time. They are always busy or caught up with their own problems right now because of this famine. I’m sure they will come through for me here soon. Surely. 

 

Twenty-fifth Day of Harvest Month, Eighteenth Year

 

I finally found a job. It’s not one I ever wanted but it’s funny how things change when you’re desperate. I thought for sure that money my father gave me would have lasted longer than it did. It seemed like so much at first. I don’t even remember all that I spent it on. I remember I had a good time once or twice but where did it all go? Same place as the friends I suppose. It’s time for me to go feed the animals again. I am starting to think the writer of Ecclesiastes was right…but hopefully not.

 

Twenty-eighth Day of Harvest Month, Eighteenth Year

 

I put off writing again because I didn’t want to admit what I’m about to say—the emptiness of the last month has finally hit me. My pocket full of money is empty. My stomach is empty. And now my purpose for living is quickly becoming that way too. I’m eighteen and that is the last thing I would ever want to admit! I am trying to figure out what I should do. I know deep down what it is, but I’m still hoping my luck will turn around. 

 

Thirtieth Day of Harvest Month, Eighteenth Year

 

Almost there. I hated to make this journey. But a servant to someone else or a servant back home—those are my choices. Maybe he will take me back as that. Head down. No eye contact. Scraps for food. No shoes. Tattered clothes. That’s what I’m worth. To think I thought so highly of myself to wish him dead yet desire his money. This is my only hope. 

 

Thirtieth Day of Harvest Month, Eighteenth Year #2

 

I can’t believe what happened today! My Father said, “Yes!” Quicker than I ever imagined! He agreed to let me have my place back in the family! He told me he wouldn’t take “no” for an answer and instead of grounding me…like I deserved…or lecturing me on respect and honor, he said “Yes!” I couldn’t…CAN’T believe it! So tonight, I am forgiven!!! There will be work to be done tomorrow. There will be rules and standards I’ll try to obey. But it’s going to be great! What I used to see as a chore and a bore I will now see as a blessing and the duty of my life! It would seem my journey ended with the same conclusion as that Ancient Book. Looking back, I probably should have read the entire thing before seeking to prove any of it wrong. 

 

My older brother seems to still be angry, but I hope one day soon he will see the happiness that comes with just being with our Father. Add that to the things I learned while I was away. My Father’s forgiveness will never take away what I have done against Him, but it reminds me that my past doesn’t have to define the days ahead. 

 

Thanks again Father for paying for it all…my future that is! 

I am finally starting to realize how much it actually cost. 

 

__________________________________________________

 

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:”

1 John 3:1

 

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold…But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” 

1 Peter 1:18-19

Miscellaneous Monday: Moving Toward Love - Ben

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 

I Timothy 1:5

Paul told Timothy that love—that agape-self-giving-kind-of-love—is the be-all and end-all of everything we do in the Church. Quite literally, without love, the Christian life falls apart. Love is the adhesive that joins all the other virtues together (cf. Col. 3:12-14) and the singularity to which all the other aspects of Christianity can find their source (cf. Rom. 13:8-10). It is the melody line to which the rest of the notes play off. Love is the answer to every "why" question in ministry. Meaning, however the ministry is conducted, or whatever it accomplishes, or wherever it goes, the primary motivation should be love. The Church's end game is a people who have internalized their faith for themselves and then externalized their love for others.

You can have the best bible teaching, the best music program, the biggest budget, and the biggest outreach events. Still, if people are not learning how to love, the Church has failed miserably. As Paul told Timothy, love is the aim of ministry. It is the final destination toward which the whole of church work ought to be moving toward. Love is the sum total of Christianity and the purest expression of the Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:22).

But Paul knows that arriving at love is an impossibility without some way of getting there. So he says this love must come from a "pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith." What do those three things mean, and how do they help us achieve our aim of loving God and loving others?  To help us answer that question, let's think of this verse as a metaphor for a journey. Love is the final destination, a "pure heart" is the gas, "a good conscience" is the vehicle, and a "sincere faith" is like the GPS. Only when all three are present and accounted for will we arrive at our journey's end.

A useable energy source.

Paul told Timothy that the kind of love the Church ought to be moving towards comes from a "pure heart."  During the first century, whenever someone spoke of the heart, they didn't mean the organ in your chest. Instead, they were referring to the inner-most part of a person. The heart is what gives a person life, expression, and movement. But Paul doesn't just say, "heart." He says that love should come from "a pure heart." Meaning, only when their heart has been washed, redeemed, and sanctified can a person express the kind of love Paul was talking about (cf. Mat. 5:8). To use our car metaphor, before starting out on a long journey, every responsible driver asks themselves, “How am I on fuel?” And not unlike a vehicle that lacks fuel, the person who lacks a pure heart will not move in the direction God wants them to move. Their cars are effectively dead on the spot. 

A reliable transportation device. 

Not only did Paul tell Timothy that love is a direct result of “a pure heart,” but he also said that love is the clear consequence of a “good conscience.” The conscience is what facilitates choice. It is the mechanism governing man’s will. Generally speaking, the conscience is a good thing guiding a person toward the "right" decision and away from the "wrong" decision. However, scripturally, the conscience can be both a tool for good and a tool for evil. For instance, the conscience can not only be seared (1 Tim. 4:2) but corrupted (Titus 1:3).  This is why, quite frankly, "listen to your conscience," can be terrible advice for some people. 

On Calvary, the Messiah not only purged our sins, but he purified our conscience so that we might feel bad about things that are truly bad and feel good about the things that are truly good (cf. Heb. 9:11-4). The one who veers away from the Gospel has seared and corrupted their conscience in such a way that they cannot function properly. They cannot make good decisions because they possess a bad conscience. The mechanism that governs their choices is broken down and in disarray. You cannot love well without a good conscience helping you make good decisions. And you cannot have a good conscience until you’ve gone to the Good Shepherd (cf. Jn. 10:11-18).

Going back to our car metaphor once again, not only should you see if you have enough fuel to make the journey, but you should also ask yourself, "How's my vehicle?" A good conscience is not unlike a good car. A functional vehicle can get you from point A to point B. But a dysfunctional vehicle is nothing more than one big accident waiting to happen. And time would fail me to tell of the countless lives that have been ruined simply because of a bad conscience.  

A firm adherence to the roadmap. 

So, love is the byproduct of “a pure heart” and “a good conscience.” But Paul didn't want Timothy to kick it into autopilot and coast. No. He wanted the Church's love to follow wherever God would lead. Hence, Paul tells Timothy that the last component—the missing piece to this successful journey—is a "sincere faith." 

A sincere person is a person that what you see is what you get. They are honest and honorable. You can trust the sincere person, for they do not have any ulterior motives. Thus, when Paul says that love issues forth from a "sincere faith," he's speaking about a faith that is unfaltering, unwavering, and unswerving. It, like the sincere person, is faithful. 

When we get saved, we embark on a journey with Jesus as our guide. He directs where we should go. He tells us the pace we should set. He provides the bearing for our life. Though we get some glimpses along the way, we never really know where we are along our journey. Thus, whenever we have doubts or whenever we do not know precisely where God is leading, it is left up to our "sincere faith" to lead the way.

If I may use our car metaphor just one last time. Now that you’ve checked the gas level and seen that it's filled to capacity and now that you’ve gone through your vehicle with a fine-toothed comb to make sure it’s well within operational parameters; the last thing you need to ask before hitting the road is, “Where’s the GPS leading?” Jesus is the leader, and whatever he says we will do, and wherever he sends, we will go. 

The Church is a people who are moving toward love carried along by a vehicle that has a “pure heart,” maintained through a “good conscience,” and is directed by a “sincere faith.” To compromise on any of these would mean defiling one’s heart, poisoning one’s conscience, and shipwrecking one's faith. The ultimate fallout would be a people not loving well but a people who've devolved into division, destruction, and doom. They are not a people who are moving toward journey's end, but are broken down on the side of the road. 

Redefining the Past: Seeking a Refuge - Stephen

For Christians, last month was not only the time we remembered Christ’s resurrection but His trial, His torture, and His death as well. Looming in the shadows of these momentous events were two characters that since that day have been somewhat misunderstood. At the very least these two are easily cast aside from those we seek to learn from as Easter rolls around each year. In truth, these two may only ever find themselves as easy targets on our spiritual dartboards.

Both characters were filled with regret. Both were moved in their emotions. Both were moved to action. And both were followers of Jesus…at least in name. But despite all that was similar between them they differed in the way they responded to their past.

Their regret on what we now refer to as Good Friday was not because of Christ’s death although that was certainly part of it. The shame they shared was over their own sin and their failure to live up to the standards of a holy God. And the characters I am speaking of are no less than Simon Peter and Judas Iscariot.

As hard as it might be to believe, everyone reading this is identifying right now as one of these two. From their failures they took two different paths, and in a world filled with people who struggle daily dealing with their own failures and shame we can learn a lot from them both.

Peter, a faithful disciple of Jesus for over three years, failed when His teacher and friend needed Him most. Peter lied when He told Jesus He would die with Him. Peter went on lying to three different people about even knowing Christ as His trial was underway. One can only picture Peter being comforted by a fire while His once-claimed friend is simultaneously being falsely accused and sentenced to death. The visual in-and-of-itself is grieving enough but the anguish only magnifies with this:

“And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.”

Luke 22:61-62

 

Then there’s Judas Iscariot—also a follower of Jesus for over three years. Same calling, same mission. Yet, unlike Peter, Judas was already guilty of some private, unrepented sins that only become public when he infamously betrays Christ for thirty pieces of silver. The price of a slave for the One who claimed to be the Messiah was a price the religious leaders of that day were anxious to pay. It was also a price Judas in his greed was anxious to accept.

For whatever reason, Judas regrets his decision and seeks to return the money. But like with so many of our own mistakes—what’s done, what’s spoken, what’s acted upon cannot be easily taken back or undone.

“Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”

Matthew 27:3-5

 

The failures of both at this point are clear. So too is their shame, their emotion, and their regret. It is here where the two paths once intertwined now diverge. Their grief is shared yet their response to such grief is not. The Apostle Paul would summarize the difference later on like this:

“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

2 Corinthians 7:10

 

Peter’s regret brought about a repentance that eventually found him prostrate at the mercy of Jesus. The regret of Judas brought about a guilt and shame that, like Peter, was too great for him to bear alone. But instead of seeking a God who was greater, Judas sought an escape brought about by his own hands.

As we look back at the stories of both of these men two things become evident. The greatest failure of Judas’ life was not in betraying Christ; it was failing to believe that three days later Christ would prove even betrayal capable of being overcome. In contrast, the greatest decision in Peter’s story was his continual hope that forgiveness could still be found in spite of the magnitude of his sinful past. 

When it comes to our grief over the shame and guilt that our sin can and will bring, we have the same choice as these two men. Their initial failure was equal. Their emotion was equal. Their regret was equal. The only difference when it came to how they dealt with the sinful choices of their past was in the place they sought refuge.

The good news for you and I today is that even though the shame and guilt of sin still exists from what we’ve done, God still stands ready to be the refuge we need to save us from it all. Our past can be redefined but only when placed into the hands of God.

 “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

Psalm 34:18

 

Redefining the Past - Ron

This month we are middling about redefining the past. There are memories from my past that do not evoke the warm fuzzies. You may find yourself in that same boat. Maybe you have a hard time understanding the person you were then, or you question if you could have been the same person at all. Society is grappling with how to handle aspects of our national past as well. What if there was a way to cut through all the noise and see the past in a way that makes sense?

One of life’s little blessings is how our memories tend to rearrange themselves in our favor. Remove yourself a matter of years from an event, and the smallest gesture can be lionized. The minor slights against us and the kindnesses shown by us get demonized and romanticized, respectively. Beyond altering our memories, our mind sometimes forgets, and sometimes represses. Of course, an over-forgetful mind may sometimes be a curse!

National memory, unfortunately, seems to work the same way. It is far too easy to look back on past events and lionize this or that nation’s involvement. It is easier still to magnify the dark moments of history while overlooking completely the bright ones. All it takes is a few generations to misremember or forget completely.

This happened to the people of Israel after the death of Joshua. Judges 2:7-10 says, “And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.”

As soon as a generation came along that did not know Joshua, the Lord, or the miracles of the Lord, the Israelites raced into apostasy. For us, the Bible is essential when dealing with the past. The Bible defines the past, so that it cannot be redefined by us. Because of the Bible, “we know that the history of the world is the history of what God is doing to glorify Himself by redeeming His fallen creation…” (Biblical Worldview: CFR, p. 369). 

The Bible, and the worldview it offers, gives us a context for both our individual and national past. And this includes both the positive and the negative. At the very least, one can say he has had a front row seat to the unfolding of God’s plan! In Isaiah 46, God says, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure…I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it” (vs. 10-11).

And don’t forget that in Romans 8, Paul tells us “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (vs. 28-29). Those verses contain the promise that God can work everything in your life together for the good of achieving His purpose for your life. And that purpose is you being like Jesus.

God redeemed your soul at the moment of your conversion. As God continues, day in and day out, to redeem every aspect of your life, understand it as a work of grace to His glory. Your past, then, and mine, is woven together into the history of the universe; one great tapestry illustrating the grace, majesty, and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Redefining the Past – Ben

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 

2 Corinthians 5:17

Have you ever seen the film Dumb and Dumber starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels? If not, you’ve missed out on the pinnacle of movie entertainment. Literally all of Hollywood before had been leading up to this masterpiece. Gone with the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, and Ben Hur are nothing more than mere pit stops leading to the final destination that is Dumb and Dumber. And while I won’t spoil the movie for you, there is a scene about halfway through that is worth mentioning. 

Carrey’s and Daniel’s characters are on a road trip headed to Aspen, CO, where, as Lloyd (Jim Carrey) says, “beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano” to return a briefcase to said beautiful woman. Unbeknownst to them, there are some shady characters after that briefcase. And in true comedic fashion, they end up befriending one of their own pursuers. In fact, throughout the first half of the movie, tension builds as the killer tries to manipulate the duo into giving him the briefcase. But that tension eventually breaks when Lloyd asks, “Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?” And then, suddenly, he utters a scream so loud and annoying the killer breaks decorum revealing his unhinged personality. It’s not only a hilarious scene, but it is a brilliant way to further the narrative. 

Why bring this up? Because the past, not unlike Jim Carey’s character, is an annoying and loud companion. Without warning, the past can scream in your ears, bringing you back to a time of embarrassment or heartache. Even the most stoic and composed amongst us are liable to break when confronted with their past. Mistakes made in high school can still trouble a grown adult. I still remember mispronouncing the teacher's name on the first day of 3rd grade. To this day, I fight the urge to crawl under a rock every time I think of it. I know I’m not alone in this. Everyone has memories they’d sooner forget than remember. And luckily for the Christian, forgetting is possible. The scriptures show us that nothing helps us forget the mistakes of the past quite like a brand new beginning. 

Jesus made a way for all of creation to be renewed. He calls us his “new creation,” as if we had gone through a metamorphosis and turned into something completely new. This new creation has a new home, a new heart, and a new way of thinking. The past no longer defines the new creature; instead, the new creature is defined by their new Master. And their Lord teaches them a new way of life. Rather than indulge in the vices of their past life, this new life is marked by virtues like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (cf. Gal 5:16-26). Not only that, the new creature has the Spirit of God living in them and working through them to produce good works to God’s glory. This old-creature-made-new no longer lives unto themselves but unto a greater calling, one that transcends time and space and will eventually erase their pasts entirely. 

The former things have passed away for those who walk in newness of life in Christ. The past is past, and the future is bright. The chains that hold the addict, criminal, and sinner are broken. And all those who call on Jesus Christ have been set free to live according to the future God has for them and not the past, which so often tries to hold them in place. 

The past is an apparition that will haunt us forever if we lose sight of our new present. Sadly, we will never truly be able to forget who we were in the past, at least in this life. Mistakes are not so easily expunged from our memories. But through Christ, the past has no bearing on who we have to be now or who we will be in the future. Why? Because our past does not define who we are, God does. And God can quiet even the loudest and the most annoying past.