November 08, 2011
The Good Child
I think I struggle with the story of the Prodigal Son more than any
other passage of Scripture. I recently read an advice column in the paper where
a writer was responding to the issue of parental favoritism. The writer
observed, “…that parents give their
attention to the children they think need it most. To the left-out child, it
feels like favoritism, but I truly believe the parents consider that child to
be the most loved and think they need to dote on the others.” I’d never
considered that the Prodigal’s older brother might somehow be in the father’s ‘most
loved’ category. I’m not suggesting that God plays favorites, but He certainly
looks favorably and with love on those who are obedient. “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is
the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too
will love him and show myself to him.” (John 14:21 NIV)
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----The general perception of ”Love” involves a high degree of affection. This is unfortunate. The basic substance of love is a high degree of benevolence - simple inclination to be kind and helpful. Benevolence is the basic denotation of “agape”, the Greek term for the love God calls us to show everyone. Affection is merely one of its connotations. Now that does not mean affection is no part of agape. But as emotions rise out of involvement, affection rises out of benevolence. It does not work the other way around. If benevolence were to rise out of affection, the whole process of the church being the body of the Lord would collapse and favoritism would scatter it into many parts, each one being affectionately aggregated around just one of various understandings and interests.
-----Hmm. Why does that sound familiar? I think people are extremely bad critters. I don’t mean there is no good in any of us. I mean that even the best of our righteousness is vile rags compared to God's righteousness. “Well, shucks, Steve! Ya, ain’t supposed to compare ours to His.” Nay, chopper! Because we compare ourselves to each other is precisely why we are so vile! It is always easier to lower the bar than to raise the behavior. So when we are the bar to each other, since our behavior is quite capable of fluctuating between better and worse, it isn’t too hard to understand why things of human nature, social behavior, and public recognition of God just keep getting worse. Moreover, the “Who is anybody to say what is the norm?” philosophy of the late sixties took the bar down and broke it into short little sticks.
-----But God does not change. With Him as the bar, there is no lowering of it. Naturally, it becomes increasingly difficult to hold God up as any kind of mark for an aim when the public’s mentality has been disconnected from Him and attached to some kind of imaginary spark in a primitive mud puddle. And this is exactly the result one would expect when benevolence is considered to emerge from affection, rather than affection from benevolence.
-----But when benevolence is the substance of love, everyone is met with a simple inclination to be kind and helpful, even though nobody can kindly help the whole world. There is no matter of “do I or don’t I prefer you” in benevolence. It all becomes a matter of simply noticing little scratches and dents in one another which sometimes we can help to patch. And there is just something about patching someone else’s ouie that generates affection.
-----You don’t think God has ouies needing patches? “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’” (Matt 25:37-40) In as much as every hair is numbered, every sparrow falling to the ground counted, and every thought of man known to God, He’s got more ouies than you could ever know! Worrying less about to whom goes our affection and simply responding to ouies near us which we can patch best grows our affection, including our affection for God.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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