Sharpened Together - Week 13

Key Scripture: 
Luke 15:25-28
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.

Motives are important.

Why we do something is just as important as what we do.

As men seeking after God, Jesus in the gospels set a very high bar for us to follow:
Anger = murder.
Lust = adultery.

The journey towards adultery begins in our heart, in our thought life. And we might think getting angry at someone is justifiable but ultimately that angry thought has the same DNA as murder.

This is why Proverbs tells us to “Guard our heart” with the admonition “for everything you do flows from it”. This is good counsel for us but would also have been for The Older Son.

The grace and favour shown to his brother triggered an angry response. Through all the years of faithful service, his actions were contrary to a heart that was likely frustrated and aggrieved by a brother who neglected his responsibilities.

On one level, it is easy to be doing the right thing in church life while under the surface in our heart be carrying sinful thought life DNA. It is only spending time in God’s presence through having a daily prayer life, that the Holy Spirit can work in our hearts to repair our brokenness and allow us to pursue whole heartedly the things of God.