I Want My Share…Now
Luke chapter 15 records the account of what we refer to as the story of the prodigal son. It is a fascinating tale when examined from various perspectives. However, in this article I want to focus principally on the aspect of waste, an outcome which is almost inevitable when gifting is separated from God’s purpose and timing. In the Jewish family, inheritance was typically provided through a will at the death of the father. So in the case of our story, the younger son was certainly premature in asking for his share of the inheritance prior to the decease of his father.
In the Jewish tradition, a child became a man at age 14 and this was typically celebrated with the service called a Bar Mitzvah. However, biblically it was the age of 30 when males were considered to be of the age of maturity and wisdom and prepared for leadership. It was this age when Joseph became second in command in Egypt. David began to rule at age 30. And then Jesus began his ministry following the baptism by John at age 30. I think these ages are significant in how they relate to what the Lord is doing and precisely when he chooses to accomplish something. Joseph, David, and Jesus were exactly where they were supposed to be at the very moment ordained by the Father. This was the Providence of God being fulfilled.
The Luke Scripture tells us that the younger son took his journey into a far country and there wasted his substance with riotous living. The Greek word for “riotous” is here defined as behavior which is dissolute and profligate, a lifestyle marked by immoral, wasteful, and squanderous living. Now we already know from this passage that what the younger brother took was going to be in his possession ultimately. So a very significant issue here is one of timing. Added to this was the father’s unrecorded intentions, aims, and concerns. At this point I want to share a personal experience.
Fifty-three years ago the Lord brought an incredible “gift,” into our lives. A man who was the epitome of humility and thoroughly endowed with the spiritual gift of prophecy. Additionally, he was a wonderful teacher filled with God’s Word, wisdom, and revelation. At the time I was what you might call a self-willed Christian; one who believed in Jesus but who basically followed his own personal path. Although I did receive much valuable ministry from this man, I far from plummeted the depths of all he had to offer me. He fundamentally remained an unexplored and unexploited resource that was ever present but an untapped mine of untold riches. I will forever be grateful for all I did experience in the relatively short time we had together. But I also regret not having had the maturity to glean the riches the Lord so graciously made available to me. This was a period in my life when I was pressing forward with all that was in me to bring to realization what I thought should be happening.
You might say that I became an adult via the Bar Mitzvah rather than at the River Jordan. I want to say that God’s plan and purpose for my life was not and has never been thwarted or defeated although it may have taken a more circuitous route to reach the intended end. This is because regardless of the various trials, temptations, side trips, and distractions, my heart has always been “…set so as to go to Jerusalem.”
Like the Prodigal, I was in the midst of the inheritance all the time while giving place to the things of this world. In our story as recorded by Luke, the timing of the inheritance was tied to the death of the father. This is where we frequently veer from the Christ-centered course which pursues the perfect will of the Lord. Rather than waiting on the perfect will and timing of God, we take the reigns and attempt to make our way become the way of the Lord. There are times when I know where the Lord is headed and what he is doing, but I still have to embrace his “way” and his “when” in the whole matter. God’s timing is never a second early or a second late but always precisely on target.
Jesus’ face was set so as to go to Jerusalem because he knew the cross was his destiny. On my journey I may have to eat slop with the hogs. But if f I will totally surrender myself to the will and purpose of God along the way, I will experience the full inheritance of the Father. And then it will be his intentions that are fully manifested. Being wasteful, squandering one’s inheritance, is not simply a matter of misusing or abusing something already in your possession. It can also be a matter of failing to properly assume and correctly utilize what is being made available to you.
It is in this latter sense that believers can often squander the very life of Christ. As Christians, we are constantly making decisions which either reflect the values of the world or the values of the kingdom of God. Our love for God and the continuing pull and glamour for the things of this world are ever in juxtaposition vying for a place in our lives. As such, there are many worldly things that can appear to be completely benign or innocuous to the average person. Yet for the sincere follower of Christ, these same activities or interests could become stumbling blocks or even idols in one’s pursuit of seeking first the kingdom of God.
Solomon may be an example of someone whose inheritance outdistanced his maturity to properly navigate the waters before him. If we are willing to honor the Lord’s timing in how we access all he has for us, we will expose ourselves to his unsearchable riches in Christ. The death is already a reality. It is now up to us to walk in the inheritance offered to us.
