30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
Luke 15 11-32 To seek and the save the lost - The prodigal son 30 The Gospel, our priority
📖 Luke 15:11-32
12Mar2020 - *The Gospel, our priority* - _Luke 15:11-32_ - Bible reading: _I Peter 1:23-25_
_Luke 15:25-32 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. (26) So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. (27) And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.' (28) "But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him._
The younger son had returned and the celebration had begun. The elder brother was not in tune with the heart of the father at all. He did his duties but there was no relationship with his father. The Lord was concerned for the Pharisees and the Scribes, for the elder brother in the parable represented them. The father pleaded with his elder son to come in and join the celebration but he would not. The Lord longed for the Pharisees to be in tune with His heart to seek and save the lost but they would not.
What is priority in life? What is it that will remain? Today, we live in times, when even those institutions that we considered as symbols of solidity, have begun to disintegrate. People are not knowing what it is that we can hold on, which will give us hope and guarantees in life.
_I Peter 1:23-25 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, (24) because "ALL FLESH IS AS GRASS, AND ALL THE GLORY OF MAN AS THE FLOWER OF THE GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND ITS FLOWER FALLS AWAY, (25) BUT *THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER*." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you._
It is God’s word that will endure forever. The word of God and the gospel are one and the same. For the gospel is not a creed, doctrine, dogma or a way of life but it is Jesus, and being in an intimate relationship with Him.
_Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away._ The wise person is the one, who stakes his life on what will remain. What is it that will remain? It is the word of God or the gospel of Jesus.
The priority of the elder brother was all wrong. He should have been in tune with the heart of his father, which was to rejoice that the son, who was dead, was now alive. Many of us, in the church, are like the elder brother. We have made missions an activity, a budget, a committee and a programme of the church. Our involvement in missions is an ‘add on’ in our schedules. The gospel is not our priority. It is not for the gospel that we live, it is not for the gospel that we make life choices nor is it for the gospel that we bring up our children.
Let us be clear, if the gospel or the word, is not what we live for, we will lose it all. _Mark 8:35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it._
*Thought to ponder*
```On what priority is your life running, my friend?```