The Family Table

Intro.

Good morning, and Happy Mothers day to all the mothers. While she’s not perfect, i do like to claim that mine is the best. Mothers are one of the most important things for childhood development. The mother is more times than not more nurturing and caring, while the father is more stoic in his actions. Both are necessary for childhood growth. I personally believe that a major reason for the world being the way it is today is because a lot of kids don’t have both parents. They are learning the wrong things from the wrong person. Sometimes there are things that are best learned from the father, and somethings are better learned from a mother. In the parental dynamic the mother and the father should be able to complement each others qualities and characteristics. However, that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes people just get married for other reasons and it doesn’t work and a single parent home is created. Other times a parent may die, or for some evil wrong reason something happens and a child has to grow up with one or no parents. It has become such a major issue that just like there is a mother’s day or father’s day, there is also a National single parent day. There are over 9.8 million single parent households in the united states. Children are growing up with out the proper care that they need to learn. eventually they might run away, and live a life of sin and misery. Now in now way am I saying that it is the parents fault that the child runs away because children can run away from good homes too, its just a variable. There’s a parable that Jesus told in Luke 15 about a young man who ran away from home, and thats where I will be this morning. Luke 15:11-32

Luke 15:11–32 CSB

11 He also said, “A man had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.’ So he distributed the assets to them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered his estate in foolish living. 14 After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. 15 Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to eat his fill from the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one would give him anything. 17 When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I’ll get up, go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. 19 I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired workers.” ’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. 21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father told his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let’s celebrate with a feast, 24 because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate. 25 “Now his older son was in the field; as he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he summoned one of the servants, questioning what these things meant. 27 ‘Your brother is here,’ he told him, ‘and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “Then he became angry and didn’t want to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 But he replied to his father, ‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ 31 “ ‘Son,’ he said to him, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ”

PRAY>

The Greedy Son

There are three people represented in this parable. The first is a lost person. the lost person is represented by the younger of the two sons. He went off and squandered his possessions in a far off land. He ran away from home and wasted everything he had. Now a lot of lost people are smart with their money, so the passage is not saying that all lost people are bad with money. Rather that anyone who is lost is wasting their life, and valuable time that could be spent advancing the kingdom of God. There was that hole inside of the younger son that he just tried to fill with brokenness. There was a bottomless pit inside of his soul, and he was standing at the top with a shovel, just filling it with more and more brokenness making it bigger and bigger until He was in such a deep depression that he literally wanted to eat from the pig trough. The hole in his heart got so big that eventually he realized that he couldn’t fill it on his own. He need the help of the father. A lot like us, when we are living in sin and have that bottomless pit in our hearts eventually we will realize that we need help, and we will realize that the help we need is not drugs, alcohol, sex, etc. We will eventually realize that we need something not of this world. That is the conviction of the Holy Spirit that we feel telling us that we need help. Then when he was at his lowest even about to eat the same food as the pigs, and pigs were considered unclean animals to the Jews so just working with them he was making himself unclean. He finally realized he needed help and went back to the Father.

The Loving Father

The second person represented in this passage is God the father. He is portrayed as a loving and accepting father. Some might say He was a bad father for letting His son leave, but it’s the same as a child going off to college to live their life. They didn’t have the technological advancements that we have today. So they just had to send their kids and hope they were OK. But the part about the son leaving is not the important part. It’s the return that we are worried about. When the son returned, it says that while he was still a ways off, the father saw him and ran to him. Out of all of scripture this is the only place where we see that God ran. The Only time we see God run is when He’s running toward his children. The second part of verse 20 says Luke 15:20

Luke 15:20 CSB

So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.

while His son was still covered in filth He ran hugged and kissed him. One of the things most people say is I’m to far gone, or I need to get my life right before i come to God. NO! It only take that first step and the father comes running to meet you where you are. Then verse 22 says Luke 15:22

Luke 15:22 CSB

“But the father told his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

He makes his son clean. He gives him his spot back in the family. Luke 15:24

Luke 15:24 CSB

because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

No matter how far we have gone no matter what we have done, He is still always ready to call us son or daughter! There is always room at the kings table. When we take that first step back, the God of all creation will not hesitate to run towards us. He will throw his arms around us, and call us son or daughter. Whether coming back or staying with Him we are sons and daughters.

The Judgmental Brother

Then the last person represented in the passage here is the Pharisees, the long time church member. The ones who have stayed with God for a long time. The ones who get so caught up in what everybody else is doing wrong they forget to look at themselves. They are represented by the older brother. When the older brother found out that his younger brother who had waisted half his father’s estate many years ago, had come home and there was a party thrown for him he was very angry. He felt that his brother didn’t deserve it. He was angry because even though he had stayed with the father all he saw was that the younger brother was a disgrace. What we don’t often realize is that when we sit in the pew Sunday after Sunday, and leave it at that then we begin to lose sight of what the goal really is. We need to rejoice because we gained a new brother or sister in Christ, rather than wondering if they’re only doing it for attention or not. Luke 6:41-42 says

Luke 6:41–42 CSB

“Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye, but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the beam of wood in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the splinter in your brother’s eye.

A lot of times we will reject people because their different, But God does not see it that way.

Conclusion

I want you to imagine it’s your last meal ever. Don’t worry about what kind of food you want, but rather who is there who would you want by your side right before you die? initially It might just be a few or a lot then once you think about it more there are a certian few people that you would want there with you. But There is all ways room at God’s table. Room for every one so don’t be upset when someone you don’t like is there, rather embrace them. And if you need to join the table to day, and come be celebrated with the father, ill be right down front to pray with you, its as simple as ABC…