OLDER BROTHERS

In reading Luke 15, I did some creative meditating on the familiar story of  "The Prodigal Son."

One common way to make scripture applicable is to place yourself in the story.  I quickly identified myself in the role of the older brother.  I never wandered off into deep rebellion and defiance.  I was an obedient son.  I have stayed in the church throughout my whole life.  I even went to Sunday School and worship when I was at college!

So, what is the mindset of the older brother?

Words like jealous, angry, bitter, vindictive, uncaring, brooding, and moody come to mind. 

From the VOICE NEW TESTAMENT:  (vs.28-31)

The older brother got really angry and refused to come inside, so his father came out and pleaded with him to join the celebration.  But he argued back, "Listen, all these years I've worked hard for you.  I've never disobeyed one of your orders.  How many times have you even given me a little goat to roast for a party with my friends?  Not once!  This is not fair!  So this son of yours comes, this wasteful delinquent who has spent your hard-earned wealth on loose women, and what do you do?  You butcher the fattest calf from our herd!"

The father replied, "My son, you are always with me, and all I have is yours.  Isn't it right to join in the celebration and be happy?  This is your brother we're talking about.  He was dead and is alive again;  he was lost and is found again!"

You get to finish the story.  We're not told how it ends.  Did the older brother join the celebration?  Or did he stay outside and fume?

APPLICATION
As mature believers we have to be very careful not to become older brothers! 

• We must not allow ourselves to think that sinners should get what they have coming to them.  If God dealt with us that way, He'd send us straight to Hell!
• We must not allow ourselves to get to the place where we think our service for God has earned us a "goat to roast".  Our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  We can never earn what God has given us!
• We must not envy sinners!  The older brother hadn't even spoken with his younger sibling.  How did he know what kind of life he'd been living?  It sounds like he was jealous of the things he thought his brother was out there doing.  We must deal with any longings for sin that reside in us. 
• All the while, the older brother had been dutifully working the farm for his father.  When our faith becomes a duty instead of a service, we're heading down the wrong path!
• We must not hide our anger.  It seems that the older brother and his father had failed to cultivate an open and honest relationship.  The older brother seems inordinately angry that his father had never thrown a party for him.  Anger may be the favorite sin of old brothers.  But it's a self-righteous, self-justified anger.  There are a lot of mature believers out there who are holding grudges against God!

As we mature in our faith, God wants to do a deeper work in our lives.  His goal is to make us increasingly like Himself!