What pleases God the most?
Listen to the story of the prodigal son – Luke 15 – where the words ‘joy,’ ‘rejoice,’ and ‘celebrate’ are used multiple times to describe what happens in heaven and in the heart of God when certain events happen on earth.
The story of the prodigal son
(a) The inner world of prodigal son – filth, guilt, unworthiness (15:18-19)
(b) The heart of the father – compassion, restoration, joy (15:20-24)
(c) The inner world of the older son – condemnation, anger, contempt (15:28-30)
Three worlds collide
Part of us may identify with the unworthiness of the younger son.
Part of us may identify with the anger of the older son.
Jesus himself did not resolve the tension and give a proper closure to the story.
What then?
The cross resolves the tension
By dying on the cross, Jesus redeemed the life of every sinner.
With his blood, he paid the debt of all the prodigal sons in the world.
“It is finished.” (John 19:30) = The debt has been paid in full.
An invitation for sinners to change
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him (Jesus) should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
To all who did receive him (Jesus), who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:18)
