Insignificance: Parable of the Lost Son

Hello!

Women's Prayer Call Series: Parable of the Lost Son

Today I want to share my thoughts on the parable of the lost son which is found in Luke 15 verses 11 through 32.

When I read through this parable last week, I felt led to talk about the struggle of feeling mentally lost and insignificant because of where you are right now - whatever those circumstances may be. I want you to look at this story and see how Jesus is telling us that God cares a lot about the wellbeing of each and every one of us. I want to encourage you to see how valuable you are to God right where you are.

So you know where I’m going with this. Here’s a quick summary of the parable, and I think it’s a good idea to read it in the context of all of chapter 15.

• Jesus starts with a story of a man losing one of his sheep; he describes how the man leaves the other 99 sheep to go after the 1 that was lost. When the man finds the lost sheep, he puts the sheep on his shoulders, brings it home, and gathers his friends to celebrate finding the lost sheep.

• Jesus next talks about a woman who has 10 coins and loses 1. The woman searches and searches until she finds her lost coin, and then calls all her friends to celebrate finding her lost coin.

• Now, on to our guys. It’s the same deal, but with a slight twist. This time we are dealing with people, people who have a free will to come and do as they please. 

• We have the youngest son: Let’s call him Jimmy. Jimmy wants his inheritance - he wants it right now and his father gives it to him. Jimmy leaves home with his money, lives recklessly and finds himself broke, serving pigs, and starving. Jimmy finally looks at how low he’s gotten and decides to tuck in his tail and go home, and surprise, surprise - his father welcomes him back home with joy. Just like the man and the woman with the sheep and coin, the father brings him in, clothes him, and calls his friends to celebrate the return of this lost son.

• And… we have the older son and this time, we get the perspective of those 99 sheep and 9 coins who never went astray or lost their way. 

• Let’s pretend and call him Bob - because that sounds like a responsible name. You’d have Bob do your taxes, but maybe not Jimmy. So, Bob saw this celebration going on and he was furious with his father and refused to join the party. He got upset, not because he hated his brother, but because the father never celebrated him in such a way, and he didn’t think it was fair.

So, when I reflected on this story that Jesus is telling, I started thinking about how we very often can fit into the role of either brother. It is not hard to feel the same feelings that these guys felt. I think they struggled with feeling insignificant at home.

We have the youngest son on one hand who:

• Wants to feel that feeling of being important somewhere else. He was the youngest son. Maybe he didn’t feel like he was “the man” back at home with his father still running things and an older brother who was always doing what was pleasing and honorable. Maybe he felt like he needed some breathing room - needed to get out of the shadows of his father and brother in order to be someone important.

 

And we have the oldest son on the other hand who:

• He’s faithful - he’s responsible - he’s doing everything asked of him and never disobeys. Even though he is the golden child, he doesn’t feel so golden when he doesn’t get the attention like his undeserving brother. Maybe he feels insignificant and wonders whether it’s all worth it – putting in all this effort to be faithful to a father who doesn’t even seem to notice him.

 

I can see why Jesus uses the sibling-parent relationship to describe things. We can probably understand the stress of having a sibling who gets everything they want without appreciating it, and also know what it’s like to be the “black sheep” of a family. Jesus uses a relatable scenario to describe this feeling of feeling lost and insignificant. It can creep into other areas of our lives too. We can feel it in our jobs, in our friendships, even in the relationships we have in the church.

One of the saddest things that the enemy tries to do is trick us into thinking that we are not significant or important. Thinking that we are not significant to each other and ultimately not significant to God. I think it’s especially hard for us women because we pick up on the moods, attitudes, and body language of other people and we are constantly fighting with the dialogue in our head that is trying to interpret everything we see. We can’t just let things be.

Well this parable is telling me that we shouldn’t judge how valuable we are by looking at other people and what they have/don’t have, or by looking at how other people are praised/elevated. And I’m preaching to myself, because I know that when I don’t feel appreciated just in my head - it may not be in reality - it’s super hard not to go down the mental cycle of thinking, I’m not really wanted, I don’t have any friends, or I don’t really see where I fit in here… And that type of thinking leads to bad decisions and being physically and mentally lost - missing out on all the “diamonds” that we have right in front of us (as Pastor preached on Sunday) and ultimately separated from God, our Father.

We don’t want to go down that road – and that’s why Jesus is telling us this story. He wants you and I to see that we are important to him, just the way we are and not compared to anyone else. He is waiting for us to realize we are treasured. He is waiting for us to stop looking at what’s going on with other people and just finally experience the joy of knowing that we are living in a place of privilege. As the father in verse 31 says: “you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” That is the privilege - that is the praise and the elevation - you get to be with God - you are his beloved daughters - don’t belittle the value in that.

 

Don’t allow anything to convince you that you do not matter to him. Remember that the people around you are mere humans and make mistakes. We overlook the value of each other; we don’t take enough time to say, “I love you” and “you matter”, and that can be painful. But don’t confuse the actions of people with the love of God. Because without you, things are not the same. So, remind yourself every morning that you are God’s favorite and because you have him, you are important.

 

Prayer:

1. Help us to let go of past hurts. Give us techniques to know how to not be hurt.

2. Help us to value each other and people you have placed in our path.

3. Help us believe we are important to you. As we live out all of the various roles we have as: mothers, daughters, workers, servers - don’t allow those positions to overshadow the role that really matters to you - our relationship to you. Help us to raise the value we see in ourselves because we are your children. Help us to have joy in all the benefits and promises that are ours because we are your children. In Jesus name, amen!