The unfairness of God's grace and love

Luke 15:11-32  The Parable of the Lost Son

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. 

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Last night's small group bible study lesson was on this story Jesus told about the Prodigal Son.  This is such a lousy name for this story.  I think this story should be called the Father's Great Love, but nobody asked me.

There are three main characters in this story.  There is the younger son, the father, and the older son.  The story begins with the younger son asking for his inheritance, leaving home, and spending the money as fast as he possibly can.  We don't know anything more about this kid.  We don't know why he wants to leave.  We can only guess.  I'm guessing he was thinking he could do better than his father and he wasn't too happy living under his father's authority.  The economy takes a turn after junior has spent all his money and now he's slopping pigs and so hungry the pig slop is looking quite delicious to him.

Long story short, the kid comes home with his tail between his legs, the father welcomes him and throws a party and this annoys the older son.  First of all, it doesn't appear he was even invited to the party.  It appears he is out WORKING and he hears the party going on inside the house.  The father begs this older son to come in a join the party.  He wants him to be happy junior is home after however long it's been.  Older son isn't having any of it.  In fact, he begins to complain that he never even got to have a party with his friends.  (this may have been the reason junior left)  The father again reminds the older son to be happy junior is home and reminds him he has been living with his inheritance this whole time and it is still intact.

My group understood the obvious forgiveness the father had for the younger son.  However, we had a more difficult time with the relationship with the father and the older son.  Again, we came up against the unfairness of God.  God just does what he wants to do when he wants to do it.  We batted this story around with all our humanness and matched it up with our own parental and sibling relationships.  It's amazing how fair parents try to be and how unfair parental love is perceived by their children.  I know this is true for me.

I am currently in a fairly tense time with my dad.  My dad and my brother have been in a fight for the past three years.  It's stupid.  I can't even get into all the stupid involved in this fight.  But let's just get this out in the open.  It's about money.  What else, right?  Anyway, the most recent level of stupid has come from my father and his belief that I am on my brother's side against him.  This, of course, is not true.  I'm on my side.  I'm the only one I'll side with in any situation like this.  I'm not getting down in the mud with any of them.  There you are.  This is my idea of what a father is and does and this is what I bring to the understanding of this story.  Obviously I'll never see the point of this story using my dad as the father figure.

Back to what I said earlier, this story is definitely misnamed.  This story is all about the father's love and how HUGE it is.  It's so big it can handle being thrown away by the younger son.  It's so big it can handle being minimized by the older son.  God's love wants all to be encompassed in it.  God wants for all to be reconciled to him.

The younger son is like the lost sheep that is searched for and found and brought back into the flock, like it says in Luke 15:3-7.  What verses can we use for the older son?  This son that feels as if there isn't enough of his father's love for him, even though he's stayed near his father his whole life.  Even though he's worked in the fields for his father.  What verse can we use when we feel the love we are getting from God isn't enough or it's been pulled away from us and we a feeling taken for granted, or worse, punished.  Maybe we can use these verses from Romans 8:35-39.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution of famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:  "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

203.  Once I belong to God, nothing can take me from him
204.  My small group bible study and the love they give me
205.  God's word reminding me how BIG God's love is
206.  Reminded that I don't have to be a wild child to prove God loves me
207.  Coffee (I just don't think I can say thank you enough for the coffee)

Linking with Soli Deo Gloria

Why I can't take my eyes off the train wreck

I have to admit it.  I am mesmerized by a social train wreck.  Remember Britney Spears and the head shaving, umbrella wielding episodes?  Remember the Alec Baldwin and the American Airlines outburst or the rant he had on his daughter's voicemail?  How about good old Mel Gibson and his drunken tirade?  How about the ongoing saga of Lindsay Lohan?  I can't wait to see how the Elizabeth Taylor movie turns out.  Let's guess... fiasco?  I could go on and on with celebrity train wrecks.  Between Perez Hilton, TMZ, E!, and more and more than I can count or even look up on the internet, there is nothing more entertaining or profitable than a celebrity train wreck.  It's sad, but true.  If you think you're above all of this because you don't buy the tabloids or watch tv, don't kid yourself.  Did you watch the computer-shooting-dad on facebook?  Yeah, I thought you did.  Why are we fascinated by these people?

So why do we do it?  First of all, we do it because everybody is talking about it.  We want to feel connected to the people.  Whatever bad feelings we may feel from gawking at the celebrity antics are outweighed by the fear of being left out of the loop.  It's one thing to catch a glimpse of a tabloid headline or magazine cover while waiting in the check-out line at the grocery store.  It's the same with channel surfing and catching a newsflash or tease on an entertainment network.  However, in these days of YouTube and social media these events are available world wide in a matter of seconds.  Not only are these events available to view, but these events are interactive.  The viewer can add their comments to the YouTube posting.  The reader can share the event on their facebook page and comment or pontificate away.  And if a blogger decides to sink their teeth into one of these train wrecks... well, then I guess we get to read their opinion of whatever incident is titillating the nation (or world, for that matter) at the time.  We find ourselves with a front row seat of the latest train wreck, or we can hang back in the shadows of cyberspace.  Either way, we not only have the pleasure of viewing, but can affect the course of events with our commenting, viewing and blogging.  Awesome.

Of course, as with anything, too much of even a good thing isn't good for you.  It isn't good to have too much fascination with train wrecks, celebrity or otherwise.  You have to "check yourself before you wreck yourself."  Are you spending too much time looking at profiles and pictures?  Have you found yourself trying to connect with these people?  Are you lying to yourself or others about the time you spend seeking information about them?  Are you neglecting your real life responsibilities?  The answers to these questions will reveal if you have slid too far down the slippery slope of gawking.  You may be causing a giant tie-up on the freeway of your life.  You will begin to annoy those traveling the road of life alongside and behind you.

This morbid curiosity we find in observing a Charley Sheen rant or a facebook drama has been around since the beginning of time.  We can always look at the situation and be glad this isn't us.  We can step quite close to the edge of craziness and get a good close-up view of it.  We can watch people make decisions that may put their lives or the lives and well being of their families in jeopardy and avoid any involvement or responsibility whatsoever.  It offers an escape from the hum-drum of our day-to-day lives and gives us the excitement of being close to the danger without actually stepping out on that ledge.

We've all been the star of a curiosity show in our lives.  We may have lost our temper in the grocery store with our kids.  (There's some good entertainment.)  Or fought with our sister-in-law at Christmas dinner in front of the entire family.  (Here's something that can be rehashed every Christmas from now on.)  Maybe we've had too much to drink at an office party.  (Boy, don't say you didn't make an impression with your boss.)  Or what about the dreaded "walk of shame" from a college frat party.  (Fingers crossed, yearbook photo!)  But, we don't have to suffer being the spectacle that celebrities going off the deep end into insanity suffer.  No paparazzi are hiding in our bushes.  We don't have to write about our family troubles or money troubles in our blogs.  We can keep our facebook status pleasant and not air our dirty laundry on the newsfeed.  We don't have to be the advice giving well intentioned facebook friend.  Most people aren't interested in helping or even being sympathetic.  Most are looking for a show, and when you provide a show, people are going to watch.

198.  IT people who know what they are doing (I hope one comes to my office tomorrow)
199.  A reader with a skin care line and the kindness to send bunches of samples
200.  The cleansing effects of fire
201.  Good neighbors
202.  Bloggers without a filter

Organized blogging

I've come to realize, after a year and a half of purposeful blogging, I need to get organized.  It's getting tougher and tougher to sit down in front of the computer screen and fire off a blog post.  First of all, it's super hard to think up a topic off the top of my head.  Sometimes I'll get an idea for a post while I'm cooking or driving or showering, but I don't write it down and the *poof* I forget what I was thinking about.  I've seen a flowery fancy blog organizer advertised on the internet.  These must be for Mommy Bloggers.  I don't mind a flower or two, but this one was certainly flowery to the nth degree.

Another organizing tool I would like to begin to use is a calendar of some sort to remind me of special bloggers I'd like to link-up with on certain days.  Often I'll finish my post and hit Publish, and then *facepalm* I've forgotten to add the link to their blog and have to edit my post.  Or worse, forget to link altogether.

One blogger told me she has a "dummy blog page" where she writes drafts of potential blogs and then copies and pastes them to her real blog page when she is read to publish.  The header for her dummy page is DO NOT PUBLISH in giant red letters.  I don't know if this would work for me.  I think it may have been helpful when I was working on redesigning my page.  I know I went back and forth and back and forth on what I liked and what I didn't like.  I even scared myself when I thought I'd deleted the whole thing.

I'd love to hear any suggestions my blogger friends or readers use to organize their blog and blogging time.  Some of you have such gorgeous blogs. 

191.  Organic local strawberries (these cannot be compared to grocery store berries)
192.  Knowing I will be ON VACATION at this time next week
193.  An "attaboy" from my boss (rare and far between)
195.  It's Friday (just sayin')
196.  Knowing I'm making lamb stew this weekend (we love lamb stew)
197.  I've started walking again and it's a good thing

SuperBlogger

God uses this stuff

I heard this song on the radio today.  It not only has a catchy tune, but the lyrics really spoke to me. It probably caught my attention because of the word STUFF.  I've got stuff on the brain.  I can't believe how many times little things like losing my keys or my cell phone can throw me into a full-on, cussing, anger-spewing melt-down.  Seriously, keys.  I am so blessed in my life.  When I read the posts from bloggers who are missionaries in other countries and they tell about the joy the people in those churches have for Jesus.  When they tell how far the people walk to gather together to worship.  When they tell about the dangers people face just by saying they are christians.  I am humbled.  More times than I care to admit, I get to the end of my blog post and struggle with my list of gratitudes.  How can that be?  I have so much to be grateful for.  Am I struggling because of the embarrassment of riches I have.  I can pray, "give me this day my daily bread," but what I should be saying is "Thank you for all the ways you've blessed me, and, btw, I could stand to loose a few pounds, so hold the bread."  I am so glad I heard this song on the radio today.  I'm looking forward to uploading it from iTunes and being able to listen to it often.

My list of 1000 gratitudes
184.  My car and the radio in it
185.  Christian radio stations playing Christ-honoring music
186.  YouTube videos of music I want to hear again and share with others
187.  A heart soft enough to be humbled by stories from missionaries
188.  A spirit generous enough to give to the work of God in the world
189.  A comment from a Christian blogger I admire so much (I cannot believe he read my blog)
190.  Walking hand in hand with my husband after work

This Is The Stuff, by Francesca Battistelli

I lost my keys in the great unknown

And call me please 'Cuz I can't find my phone

This is the stuff that drives me crazy

This is the stuff that's getting to me lately

In the middle of my little mess

I forget how big I'm blessed

This is the stuff that gets under my skin

But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing

It might not be what I would choose

But this is the stuff You use

45 in a 35, Sirens and fines while I'm running behind, Whoa

(chorus)

So break me of impatience

Conquer my frustrations

I've got a new appreciation

It's not the end of the world

Oh Oh Oh

(chorus)

Oh Oh Oh Oh, This is the stuff You use

Secretary's day

It's the day of the year, set aside to honor me, and all those doing the job I do.  I'm a secretary.  It's what I do.  I do it, because it is important to do work.

"Without constant activity, the threats of life will soon overwhelm the values." -- Jim Rohn 

Today is a slow day at the office.  Even the phone is silent.  My office is cold and the hum of the fan on the space heater is droning low and constant.  A quiet day like this is few and far between, but today I am not enjoying it.  I know I'll long for a slow day like this when I'm swamped and up against the wall with work.  Today, I'm wishing for a project.  Maybe I'm wishing I was home, clearing the stuff out of my house.  Having a project to work on while I'm at work makes the day go by faster.  It gives me a purpose.  Today, I wonder why I'm here.  I texted my husband and asked him why I was here.  He reminded me I carry my son's health insurance and his dental insurance.  I have a purpose.

"I never remember feeling tired by work, though idleness exhausts me completely." -– Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 

I can relate to Sherlock Holme's dad on this one.  I'm yawning and finding my head being held up with my hands.  I'm wondering if anyone will notice if I lay my head on my desk and fall asleep.  One of my co-workers told me that another co-worker closes the door to his office and takes a nap, sometimes.  She knows, because she can hear him snoring through the wall.  That's funny.  I could never get away with this.  My boss has an "open door" policy.  And I don't mean "open door," I mean open door.  He doesn't allow me to close the door from my office to the hallway and the door between our offices remains open unless he has a private meeting going on in there.

"Laziness is a mood or a pose.  It's like a coat--you can take it off whenever you decide to. Activity breeds productivity. Get busy and you'll get business." -– Tom Hopkins

I'm planning to have lunch with my husband today.  I think he wants to celebrate his GENIUS in the stock market.  I'm proud to be able to join him and compliment him on his great day in the market.  (I think his love language may be words of affirmation)  Between the effort I'm putting forward on this post and the diversion of having lunch with the husband, I hope to return to the office invigorated and ready to find something to do.  I will Get Busy!  As I glance around my space, I see a couple piles of papers I could sort through and file or toss.  Granted, it's not a lot, but it's something and then it will be done.  (this is completely off topic, but my boss just emitted a gigantic yawn.  seriously GIGANTIC.  yawning is contagious, just sayin')  I believe Mr. Hopkins when he says, "Activity breeds productivity."  I believe there is also a law of inertia that says a body in motions will stay in motion, unless acted upon by another force.  (I'm sure I've worded this incorrectly and will gladly accept any corrections)  If I get moving, I'll get something accomplished.

"Well done is better than well said." -– Ben Franklin

This being said, now all that is left to do, is to do, right Ben?  And just as I type these words, I notice a dumpster has been placed in the circle outside my office building.  Is this a sign?  I believe it is.  I will have a giant cup of coffee, a short walk to my car, an exhilarating drive to the restaurant, a stimulating conversation with my husband, a delicious, but light lunch, another exhilarating drive back to my office and do all I have said I would do.  I will work as Mr. William J. Bennett describes.

"Work is effort applied toward some end. The most satisfying work involves directing our efforts toward achieving ends that we ourselves endorse as worthy expressions of our talent and character."

177.  A job with a purpose
178.  Being married to a stock market genius
179.  A boss that appreciates the work I do (when I remind him)
180.  Delicious Thai food for lunch on rare occasions
181.  Coffee (have I said this before, because I AM super grateful for coffee)
182.  A slow day at the office once in a while.
183.  A basket full of petunias

Linking with Emily at Imperfect Prose on Thursdays

Pile of stuff

PLUS

Yeah, it's coffee

EQUALS

Clean shelf

a basket of petunias = appreciation