Year 4, Day 224: Luke 15

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son should really be called the story of the Forgiving Father.  After all, look at what happens.  Here’s a man with two sons that he loves deeply.

The first son doesn’t value him in return.  His identity is coming from something other than honoring his father and mother in a godly manner (remember that from the 10 Commandments, right?).  Because his identity is coming from the wrong place, he sins against his father.  He takes his inheritance and squanders it.  But when he comes back to his senses, the young son returns.  He comes the whole way back intending to serve his father.  But when he gets back to the father, the father forgives him.  He didn’t earn the forgiveness and he certainly didn’t deserve it.  But he still received forgiveness.

Then there’s the action of the older child.  The older son comes in from the field because he hears the celebration.  When he finds out what happened, he is furious.  Again, this son’s identity is not coming from honoring his father in a godly way, either.  He argues with his father and misses an opportunity to celebrate and be joyful at the coming of redemption.  But when the father speaks, the father demonstrates forgiveness.  The son didn’t earn the forgiveness and he certainly didn’t deserve it.  But he still received forgiveness.

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