My husband asked me what I thought the saddest verse in the Bible was. He said, to him, the saddest verse was in the story of the prodigal son. The father addressed the son who stayed at home, “All that I have is yours.” (Luke 15:31) That son lived his life feeling like a slave. ALL that the Father had was within his reach.
How sad it is when we” slave away” in our religious lives to gain approval from a Father who loves us so dearly when all we have to do is “ask, seek, and knock.” (Matthew 7:7) But we need to do that with the understanding that we are a child of God, and not a slave, or a hired servant.
The Father would not have accepted the “prodigal” son’s idea to be a hired servant. He put a ring on the son’s finger, a token of authenticity and authority as a son.
The Father’s response to his disgruntled son was to remind him that “all that I have is yours.” (Luke 15:31) How sad indeed to live as a servant, believing that we have to earn “even a goat to celebrate with my friends” (Luke 15:29), as the older son complained.
How sad indeed that we could have access to the abundance that could change not only our lives, but the lives of those around us. Often, we don’t access it. All that our Heavenly Father has is ours.
~ Susan Kewin
Christ Fellowship