City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“11 And he said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.’”

Luke 15:11-16 ESV

“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.”

Proverbs 27:12 NIV

Reflection

Jesus is telling parables to explain to the Pharisees, scribes, tax collectors, and sinners the grace and love of God, namely to the Pharisees and scribes because they had missed the point (Luke 15:1-2). In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, a man has two sons, the oldest would get 2/3 of his father’s assets. The youngest son didn’t have the maturity to appreciate or handle wealth, and he certainly didn’t appreciate his father.

In ancient Israelite culture, children weren’t supposed to ask or even imply for their inheritance before their father’s death, the prodigal son demanding his share while his father was alive was telling him right to his face, “Dad, I wish you were dead.” Jesus would have paused while the audience gasped, clasped their hands to their mouths, or stared wide-mouthed. As Pastor Chris said in this week’s message, saying this in a collective culture was shocking, even suicidal. The father had the right to disinherit his son or even put him to death for those words, but still, he gave him what he wanted.

Later, the prodigal son moved far away to a Gentile country, where many of the residents were polytheistic and practiced idol worship. He was living an Instagram-enviable life, worshiping himself, money, and whatever his rock-star lifestyle could bring him. Eventually, his funds dried up and a famine, or in modern terms, a recession, happened. He could no longer afford his lifestyle; he didn’t even have money to pay for a simple meal or one night at the Holiday Inn. He was penniless and homeless. In verse 15, the Greek form for hired himself out to is “joined himself out to,” he joined himself to a Gentile employer, he is now serving the pagans and feeding the very animals he was taught all his life were unclean (Leviticus 11:7-8, Deuteronomy 14:8).

But why wasn’t he fed himself? Did his Gentile boss refuse to feed him? In his desperation, was he being exploited? The pigs were fed carob pods, which were eaten by those who were very poor to fill their stomachs and used to fatten pigs. He was so hungry he was longing to eat poor people’s trash, pig slop right from the trough, he had hit rock-bottom.

Application

Nobody wakes up one morning and says, “I’d like to ruin my life with sin.” It’s a series of less-than-ideal choices made one right after another. Even before the prodigal son demanded his share of the inheritance and broke his father’s heart, he was making some poor choices, like skipping Torah school to go smoke, sneaking into his father’s wine cellar on a regular basis, or even selling a family heirloom for gambling money. When he got what he wanted, the funds and means to live a rock-star lifestyle, he made one bad choice after another until he hit rock bottom.

In his book, The Principle of the Path, the author Andy Stanley says, “Direction, not intention, determines our destination (pp. 14).” A person might intend to drive to Florida, but if their direction is west, they’ll end up in California. Or if the person just isn’t paying attention at all, they’ll get in a car wreck. Following Jesus on the narrow path (Luke 13:24-27) requires great attention and we can’t afford to be passive, He wants us to be active in our faith (Revelation 3:15-16).

I will end with a prayer by Andy Stanley from pp. 54 of his book:

Prayer

Lord, help me to see trouble coming long before it gets here. And give me the wisdom to know what to do and the courage to do it. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Reference

Stanley, A. (2008). The principle of the path: How to get from where you are to where you want

to be. Thomas Nelson, Inc. Nashville, TN. Pp. 14, 54.