In Luke 15:11-32, we see a story in which a son asks his father for his inheritance, receives it, leaves his father's presence to waste it all to the point of eating with pigs, and then repents and returns to his father. Much to the son's surprise, the father embraces him, throws a party for him, and then the father finds the older son feeling resentful.
Notice the father's response to the older son:
And he said to him "Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found." Luke 15:31-32
Notice that both sons had grown up with the same privileges of living in their father's house. The younger one had misused and wasted the father's blessings while the older son never really appreciated the blessings he had. The younger feared being excluded from blessings upon returning, but when the father celebrated his return, the older brother felt excluded.
If you’re a repentant prodigal, remember that the party for you in heaven won’t stop because of some folks in church who reject you. And let’s not be so quick to criticize the older brother, he’s only projecting his own feelings of rejection. The truth is, we all want to feel accepted and like the father in the story, God assures to both the prodigal and the older brother that they are accepted. All are invited to rejoice with Him when a prodigal returns, He never excludes any of His children.
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