The older brother in the prodigal son parable told himself that he was superior to his younger brother who had squandered his inheritance. The older brother was, most likely also convinced that he was superior to his father who welcomed home a reckless youth. When we are able to convince ourselves that we are better than someone else, it becomes impossible to love him or her. We eventually will start to look down on them and be filled with bitterness and hostility. We will move to the place where we find ourselves resenting them, and maybe even enjoying our resentment.
There are three traits of an older brother: resentment, frequent complaining, and being judgmental.
This sermon series is loosely based on Tim Keller's book, The Prodigal God. Many people have issues that the book, and the sermon series is titled this way because of the term "prodigal." We associate "prodigal" negatively, but the truth is that there are different understandings of the word.
Prodigal can mean "wasteful" or "reckless," like the story of the younger son in Luke 15. Prodigal can also mean "lavishly abundant" as it does in the context of God and His grace.Our God has lavished His grace on us in a sense that is reckless. That doesn't mean He doesn't call more out us and change us, but it does mean that He welcomes home all of us that have been wasteful of the life He has given us as He shapes us into the children we were always meant to be.
