Older son vs. Younger son

I think that I swing back and forth between the older and younger son mindsets. A lot of the time I find myself thinking that my good works have given me the 'right' to have a good life. I know this because when something bad happens I have a tendency to complain and ask God why that bad thing happened. On the other hand, when I am having difficulty in a particular area of sin then I kind of expect something bad to happen.

All of this has helped me to see how dangerous the sin of deception is. All other sin is at least evident to our senses... we know that we have sinned and that we are in the wrong. But when we allow ourselves to be deceived we don't know that we are being deceived!

So no matter what mindset I find myself in, I need to pray and ask God to shred the deception that may be clouding my mind. The truth is that neither mindset is biblical, but deception can sometimes make me think that the older brother mindset is somehow more moral and pure. It isn't. It is just as sickening in God's sight as a complete abrogation of the faith.

Chapter 3 - Redefining Sin

I want to be upfront that I have read about half of this book and I have some, many, disagreements with the author on things he says. I know the author is a lot more educated than I am, but still, I have some issues with his exegesis.

That said, I agree with the authors point that the way our heart works is very deceitful and leans one way or the other (licentious or law). On page 43 he says, "Jesus, though, shows us that a man who has violated virtually nothing on the list of moral misbehavior's can be every bit as spiritually lost as the profligate, immoral person. Why? Because sin is not just breaking the rules, it is putting yourself in the place of God as Savior, Lord, and Judge..."

What a compelling thought! Yes, I would rather have a law keeper living next door to me, because it would benefit me to have someone who keeps their home up and cares about their status. But that does not make them any more desirable to God. His view is altogether different. The law abiding or the licentious are both separated from him... and that really matters to God.


If we believe this how should we respond?

Redefining Sin

This part of the book really struck me:

(pg 39.) If, like the elder brother, you seek to control God through your obedience, then all your morality is just a way to use God to make him give you the things in life you really want. A classic example of this is the bargain that the young Salieri makes with God in Peter Shaffer's play Amadeus.

I would offer up secretly the proudest prayer a boy could think of. "Lord, make me a great composer! Let me celebrate your glory through music - and be celebrated myself!"

How many prayers I have offered up with similar intentions!

(pg 42-43.) Elder brothers obey God to get things. They don't obey God to get God himself - in order to resemble him, love him, know him, and delight him. So religious and moral people can be avoiding Jesus as Savior and Lord as much as the younger brothers who say they don't believe in God and define right and wrong for themselves.

but the good news
(pg. 45) But Jesus says: "The humble are in and the proud are out" (see Luke 18:14). The people who confess they aren't particularly good or open-minded are moving toward God, because the prerequisite for receiving the grace of God is to know you need it.

What good news for my younger-brother and older-brother nature! It's good to be aware of my need for the Savior. (Note: While I don't agree that the prerequisite for receiving God's grace is needing to know I need it - it is God's grace that opens my eyes to see that I need a Savior - I see his other point that God gives grace to the humble - James 4:6)

Some questions. Tim Keller emphasizes the importance of not seeking God for the things we can get from Him, but for the pure intentions to know and love Him. How do we do that and yet still take hold of God's promises, live in faith and ask without doubting? Perhaps to put praying/faith in the right perspective, James 4:3 - You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

Also, how do we apply verses such as Psalm 103:2 - Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits? It seems to me that the benefits this passage is talking about refer to ones that reveal His character - love, mercy, etc. As a result, we know God more and love Him for who He is. But it seems like a delicate balance - to know God and his benefits, but to seek Him purely for who He is, not what we can get from Him. Could it be why Psalm 103 begins with three proclamations to "Bless the Lord" and to "bless his holy name" only to be followed by His benefits?

Questions About Using Blog?

If you have any questions about how to post, read or use this blog, please send me an email to let me know. I'll respond as soon as I am able. My email is timb@abundantgracecc.org. The more we all participate the more beneficial and fun this blog will be.

Chapter 2 Thoughts

"Act 1, then demonstrates the lavish prodigality of God's grace. Jesus shows the father pouncing on his son in love not only before he has a chance to clean up his life and evidence a change of heart, but even before he can recite his repentance speech. Nothing, not even abject contrition, merits the favor of God. The Father's love and acceptance are absolutely free." The Prodigal God, pg.24

How amazing is this statement! Before the son can even recite his repentance speech the Father is pouncing on his son in love. I am reminded of this line in a song "How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He would give His only Son, to make a wretch His treasure."

Words are not enough to describe the overwhelming sense of God's mercy and grace upon my life. That He would 'pounce' on me in love before I had a chance to clean up my life or even recite my repentance speech makes me want to love and worship Him all the more! How about you!

The Parable

This blog idea seems great Tim. Thanks for doing this. In fact, this is the first time I have ever blogged, so let me know if I am doing something taboo. I like questions, and to hear others points of view. So, if others comment then I will keep asking questions... Lord knows I have a billion... I mean trillion... of them.

Before chapter one begins the entire parable is written out. This is a great help. For one it helped me read it slowly and consider what was said and what was not said.

In light of that I have a couple of questions.

In verse 32 the father tells the son the reason (... this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.) why he had to welcome the younger son back with such joy. How do you think this affected the elder son? What do you think Jesus' purpose was for ending it there?

My first thoughts are these -
Question #1 ( How do you think this affected the elder son?):

The elder son could have had one of two responses.
1) The elder son was not affected by the fathers reason. His heart was hardened and thought father was acting foolishly by attracting attention to this disgraceful son.
2) The elder son was softened by the fathers reason. He saw what his father did from a different light and realized his own selfish viewpoint.

Question #2 (What do you think Jesus' purpose was for ending it there?) is a little more difficult:

Was Jesus wanting the religious leaders to wonder what should happen next, and consider what THEY would do after such a reason from the father, since they were probably aware he was talking to them? Almost drawing to himself those religious leaders who believed in this type of God... a type of God who loved those who humbly/repentantly came to him. At the same time exposing the hearts of the religious leaders who thought the father was foolish?

It is also interesting that the bible does not record the response from the tax collectors or religious leaders.

What can I post here?

Just in case you are wondering what you can post about the book, here is a list of suggested categories:
QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THE AUTHOR IS WRITING
THINGS THE BOOK HAS CHALLENGED YOU ON
OR WAYS YOU HAVE BEEN ENCOURAGED
OR JUST RANDOM THOUGHTS THAT CAME TO YOU AS YOU WERE READING THE BOOK..HOPING IN SOME WAY THEY ACTUALLY ARE RELEVANT
POINTS IN WHICH YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE AUTHOR..PLS BE RESPECTFUL
REALLY ANYTHING ABOUT THE BOOK..DON'T BE SHY!

Who is in church?

I have been reading the book and was struck by the last paragraph and ending of chapter 1. Tim Keller says this, "Jesus's teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing, religious people of his day...We tend to draw conservative, buttoned-down, moralistic people. The licentious and liberated or the broken and marginal avoid church. That can only mean one thing. If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did. If our churches aren't appealing to younger brothers, they must be more full of elder brothers than we'd like to think." (pg. 15,16)

This is a scary and powerful thought. It is scary because it could be true and it is powerful because it gives me something to work on in my life. I don't want to have a church or friends that are elder brothers. I pray that God will direct me to younger brothers who need Jesus. May God grant to us wisdom as we evaluate our lives throughout this book study. May we put to death the elder brother and younger brother in our lives and love the Father just because of who he is - our FATHER!

And may we attract both brothers to AGCC and see lives changed for the glory of God!

Ch. 1 - THE PEOPLE AROUND JESUS

Were you like me? I never really caught the story of the elder brother. I would always just have that quick thought that I understand his frustration, but ultimately was glad the this story emphasized God's mercy and that I was glad that I received it!

In the silhouette to the right we all seem very much the same. But oh how deceiving, we could most likely be classified into one of two groups...the tax collectors and sinners or the pharisees and the teachers of the law. After reading chapter one, which group do you see yourself?

To conclude for today..from page 10..."No, the original listeners were not melted into tears by this story but rather they were thunderstruck, offended, and infuriated. Jesus's purpose is not to warm our hearts but to shatter our categories. Through this parable Jesus challenges what nearly everyone has ever thought about God, sin, and salvation. His story reveals the destructive self-centeredness of the younger brother, but it also condemsn the elder brother's moralistic life in the strongest terms. Jesus is saying that both the irreligious and the religious are spiritually lost, both life-paths are dead ends, and that every thought the human race has had about how to connect to God has been wrong."

Quick Thought....

As I was beginning to read the book the story of the Prodigal Son is told. While pondering the story, I find myself siding with the older brother. "It's just not fair!", I say in my head. I alway get worked up inside when I hear this story. I feel the same way when I hear the story of Mary & Martha...why does the hard worker get ragged on? Boy, was I setting myself up!

Welcome to the AGCC Book Club Blog. The first book that we are reading is The Prodigal God - Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith. You can purchase it at the church resource center or online at Amazon.com.

The author of the book discusses a parable that we are all very familiar with..."The Prodigal Son". We all love hearing that story and about how some friend or family member has reconciled with God. As exciting as these stories are, the author, Timothy Keller proposes there is much more to the story than the wayward son returning home.

Pick up the book and join us as we learn about "Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith".

Please us this blog to post your thoughts of the book as well as questions for other to answer. We will be meeting on May 17th to discuss the book in person from 1:30pm to 3:30pm at the church building.