What would you say to living and never having to work? To be in that position where you own everything you desire but never having to sweat for it. Can you picture that? Would you want such a life?
Started with lots of questions to help me know where you lie with reference to this topic? Feel free to start the read again and honestly examine yourself on the basis of the questions I posed….the key word here is honestly!!😊. I mean it is just you thinking and answering so you could as well be honest with yourself 😇.
Okay, now that we are done with that, how about a life of extreme labour? I mean you work day and night, in cold and hot weather, everywhere and every time. Just to console you, you do get everything you desire as above, the only difference is that you have to work really hard….extremely hard. Who would want this???I, for one already have a bias for the first paragraph set of questions.
Do you remember the parable of the prodigal son? His elder brother got so angry because of the party held for his sibling, his lost and found brother who squandered off all his inheritance. He just couldn’t understand how he could be the one working so hard and someone else just comes and receives so much appreciation….which was never done for him.
The focus of this post is more on the older son. In his own words, he expressed that he was slaving for his father. His attitude and mentality towards all the work he did was similar to that of a slave. Despite being a legitimate son of his father, his identity was really misplaced. A slave as we all know has no right of ownership to his master’s property. The job description would be one and one only…obey all the instructions. And this is what the older son confesses to doing fully.
What would make the eldest son of a rich man feel like a slave? It is obvious he did not know his rightful position in the family tree. Even after the youngest son left with his inheritance, he still continued working with the mentality that he was a slave to his father.
Many a times I have felt the emotions of the older son. I focused on deeds to gain my Heavenly Father’s approval. A path similar to that of a perfectionist in an aim to obey all the ‘orders’. This led to a personal struggle with self condemnation and guilt every time I fall short yet there is really no one perfect…NO ONE!!
I focused on a path that would only lead to disappointment. Disappointment in no one else but myself. Why would I do that? Why would I beat myself up yet there is nothing that can ever separate me from the love of my Creator.
What if this parable was about the eldest son squandering his inheritance and the youngest son worked really hard? Then this parable wouldn’t pass the message it was meant to. It was deliberately set that the youngest son misuses all the wealth given to him while his brother remains home with his father.
The eldest son in most societies stands as the likely successor of his father’s title and heir to the family’s wealth, property and riches. By never leaving his father, the eldest son represents the believers who are already called to be heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.
Image by Liv Bruce via Unsplash
Both the older son and I had one problem. We did not know who we really are to our fathers. How are we to know our rightful place? Well we just needed to have a small chat with our father. From the parable, to me it feels like the older son never had such a discussion with the father. His father seemed to feel it was really automatic/obvious that his eldest son knew of his position in the family.
Do you think that would have made a difference if this conversation happened much earlier? Maybe! I will not talk on behalf of the older son or anyone else because in my personal experience, I have had to have this chat severally. Yes, I have heard it before but somehow life together with the devil have fervently tried to shake this foundation. And it is in such moments that God sends people my way to remind me of what His word says.
God’s word through the Bible is the only sure way of anyone knowing who we really are. It is that conversation between a child and his father. So who are we as believers?
- We have the right to be called children of God
- We were chosen before creation
- We are God’s creation
- God knew us before creating us in the womb of our mothers
- Our lives are hidden in Christ
- The world does not know us
- We are all one in Christ
- We are the Body of Christ
- We should no longer be slaves to sin
- God does not make us timid
Absolute great reminder to myself in this journey. God bless and see you next week Friday 😊😇🙂
#Iwillnotwork
#LabourDay
#Hopeforyouandme
EsperanzaMaishani 