The young man had it all. His father was a wealthy and powerful man. His estate was vast, and his servants were numerous. As a result, the young man grew up a child of privilege. Every need had been provided for him. Not a single want was denied to him. Each day of his life was filled with joys and delights that you and I can scarcely imagine. As I said the young man had it all.
But still the young man wanted more. He thought his father was being stingy with the estate; that he was holding back from the young man some unknown pleasure. The young man began to resent his father. He longed for the day the old man would die, and he could cash in his inheritance. Until one day he could not and would not wait any longer. The young man demanded that his father give him his share of the estate. In effect he was telling his father, “I hate you!” “I wish you were dead!”
The father’s heart was broken. He loved his son. To know that his son did not love him in return… devastated the father. In complete agony he watched his son go.
Off in a distant land, the young man squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. In order to stay alive, the young man was forced to do increasingly degrading and demeaning things. He sunk deeper and deeper into the gutter until finally he hit rock bottom. “I have treated my father horribly.”, he thought to himself. “In fact, I do not deserve to be his son.” He decided he would return to his father and beg forgiveness. He knew his father was a kind man. He thought perhaps his father would allow him to work as a servant.
But the young man underestimated his father. He underestimated how much his father loved him. Not a day had gone by that the father did not miss his son. Day by day the father scanned the horizon hoping to see any sign of his son’s return. “where are you, my son”, the father whispered into the distance. Then one day, the father saw something off in the distance. The distance was so great that you would think there was no way of knowing who it was. But the father knew. His heart swelled. Casting his dignity aside, the father began running to his son. He would not take the chance that his son would lose courage and change his course and so he ran to him. He nearly tackled his son as he threw his arms around him and kissed him. “‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’”, the young man confessed. And no sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father was ordering a robe to be wrapped around him and a ring to be placed on the finger of his son. “Bring the fattened calf and kill it.” Said the father. “Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So, they began to celebrate.”
You know this story as the parable of the lost son. You may recall, it was a story that Jesus told some Pharisees and teachers of the law who were insulted because Jesus associated with sinners. But did you know, this earthly story with a heavenly meaning is a true story? The story of the lost son really happened.
1,500 years before Jesus shared it with the Pharisees and teachers of the law, the story of the original lost son was recorded in Genesis chapter 3. Like the young man in Jesus’ story, Adam and Eve had been convinced the heavenly Father was being stingy with His estate. Even though the LORD God had created a garden paradise for them where all their needs were met, and every want was satisfied, Adam and Eve began to resent the LORD God. The devil convinced them the fruit that God had forbidden, was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, and so they took it and ate it. The moment they sank their teeth into the fruit they found themselves separated from LORD God as if they were in some distant land. Adam and Eve were the original lost ones, but they are not the only ones to get lost. 2,000 years after Jesus told the Pharisees and tax collectors His earthly story with a heavenly meaning, sons and daughters are still getting lost.
In verse 8 we read, “8 the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” They hid from the LORD God. Sons and daughters are still trying to hide from the LORD God. The reasons they hide are as numerous as the people hiding. Some have a shameful secret they are trying to keep or a disgraceful indiscretion they are trying to hide. Others are hiding because of failed responsibilities, unmet obligations, and broken promises. Still others are hiding because of wasted talents, misused abilities and squandered opportunities. We all have our own reasons to hide from the LORD our God. And each one of us hides in our own unique way; some in the bottom of a bottle or surrounded by a company of degenerates, others cloaked in indifference and apathy, still others beneath a mask of self-righteousness and in a costume of accomplishments.
Luther once referred to such attempts to hide from the LORD God as “the height of stupidity” But hiding from the LORD God is what lost sons and daughters do. They hide because they are afraid. Adam explained, “10 I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” People lost in sin know they are naked; they feel exposed before the LORD God. They know they have fallen short of His glory, they know they have missed the mark, they know they are not worthy to stand before Him, they know they deserve to be cast from His presence. They know what the wage of their sin is. And the thought of having to pay that price fills them, fills us, with fear. And so they/we run and we hide.
But we underestimate our heavenly Father. We underestimate how much He loves us. In verse nine we read, “the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” Here we see the LORD our God acting like the father in Jesus’ parable. Here we see The Creator casting His dignity aside as He calls to His creation. He calls to us! We insult Him. We reject Him. We run from Him. And yet, He calls to us. “Where are you, my son?” “Where are you, my daughter?” The question is asked not because He is seeking information, it is asked to lead us to a realization. “Where are you, my son?” “Where are you, my daughter?” “Have your transgressions lead you to a better place?” “Are you enjoying the consequences of your sinful actions?” “Is life apart from Me everything you thought it would be?” “Where are you, my son?” “Where are you, my daughter?” “Is this truly where you want to be?”
Though there were plenty of accusations made, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree.” and though there was a good amount of blame shifting going on, “The serpent deceived me.”, Adam and Eve finally admit they were not where they wanted to be. “I ate”, they confess.
May we make the same type of confession, perhaps without the blame shifting and the accusations, but may we who have sinned against the LORD our God stop our futile attempts to hide from Him. May we simply confess “Father, we have sinned against heaven and against you. We are no longer worthy to be called your son or your daughter.”
No sooner were the words out of Adam and Eve’s mouths than the LORD God was making preparations for a celebration. But instead of a fattened calf, it was an innocent lamb that was to be slaughtered. Speaking to the serpent, the LORD God said, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” This is the first promise of a Savior from sin. It is a promise to crush the serpent who lead mankind astray. When God made this promise, He knew what it meant. He knew about the betrayals and rejections His Son would face. He knew about the floggings and beatings He would endure. He knew about the nails that would pierce His Son's hands and feet. The LORD God knew the costs of welcoming lost sons and daughters back into His family; He knew the costs and paid them anyway. Such is the love of the Father.
The story Jesus told the Pharisees and teachers of the law is still being told today, because the story of a Father’s love for His lost children is as real today as it was 5,000 years ago. Because of the Father’s love for us, our story has a happy ending. We who were dead are alive again, we who were lost have been found. One day a robe of righteousness will be wrapped around us, a royal ring will be placed on our fingers, and we will join the celebration of the saints and angels in our Father’s house. Such is the love of the Father. Amen