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Parables
Of Jesus Part
6 The Famous Forgiving Parables
The parable of the Lost Sons (sometimes called the
parable of the prodigal son or the parable of the loving Father) is the story
of two lost sons: the younger son (typical of tax collectors and prostitutes)
who wasted possessions with indulgent living and the older son (typical of
the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees) who remained at home but was a
stranger to his father's heart. The parable of the Good Samaritan is a deliberate
attempt of Jesus to help us all recognize God’s view of the most important
command, that is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and
body, and the second attached is to love your neighbor as yourself.
Obeying this command of love is fully interpreted in the parable and leads to
our salvation, Luke. 10:25-28. The Spirit of Christ worked through Paul for other
Christians as he showed God’s unprejudiced love to the Christians at
Thessalonica. In 1st Thessalonians 2:6-8, he 'nursed' them.
Sometimes Christians grow to rebel though, but even so, The Father still
waits for the prodigal child to return, Luke 15:18-22. It is our
choice; will we heed & obey His voice now and always? The
Father will not let anything take us out of his hand or the fold, John
10:25-30 & 6:35-40, no matter what problem arises, at the end of the day,
it is our decision as to whether or not we will stay in his flock.
Nothing can separate us from God’s love, but on the judgment day, will we
feel the benefits of His love? Only our self is absent from the list of
things which cannot separate us from His love. Romans 8:35-38. The most
important benefit of God’s love, is His forgiving nature. His
forgiveness should motivate us to be good Samaritans. A forgiving attitude
will help us forgive when we need to forgive, and a forgiving attitude will
help motivate us to be helpful to those in need. For example, many of
us might make excuses when we see opportunities to help the homeless because
we think they got themselves into their own problem. Since they made their
bed, they must lay in it. But is that what a forgiving spirit would think? WHAT IS FORGIVENESS? Luke 17:3, not ignoring, but
rebuking. Hebrews 8:12, trying to forget and treating them like as if
they never sinned. WHY FORGIVE? We do it because we've been
forgiven, Ephesians 4:32. Its fair because we're not forgiven
unless we do, Matthew 6:12. How can we expect God to forgive us if we aren't
prepared to forgive others? We need to forgive for our own benefit
emotionally, why harbour a grudge, it only gives us bitterness. Christ
unselfishly offered forgiveness, Colossians 3:13. Even when someone doesn’t
want forgiveness from us, we can still be good, Romans 12:18. We are
obligated by God’s grace and authoritative word, to initiate the process of
forgiveness, Matthew 5: 23-24 & 18:15-17. Remember forgiveness is
often needed, simply because the offender doesn’t really realize what they
are doing, Luke 23:34. |