Elder Brother Lostness

"Sin is not just breaking the rules, it is putting yourself in the place of God as Savior, Lord, and Judge... once we have Jesus's deeper definition of sin we should be able to recognize it, and it is crucial that we do. We will call it 'elder brother lostness.' ... the first sign that you have an elder brother spirit is that when your life doesn't go as you want, you aren't just sorrowful but deeply angry and bitter. Elder brothers believe that if they live a good life they should get a good life, that God owes them a smooth road if they try very hard to live up to standards (Timothy Keller, Prodigal God, 43; 49-50)."

I have been revisiting Tim Keller's, The Prodigal God, in my reading time the last few weeks and I have been struck again by what a wonderful exposition of the Gospel it is. He takes the Parable of The Prodigal Son and unpacks in a magnificent way so that we see our own sin and lostness in the characters. In the above passage Keller points out Jesus's redefinition of sin and gives a convicting statement about what it means to be an "Elder-Brother." Here are some key points I have been revisiting in the book.

1. What does it mean to be a prodigal? The definition of the word is actually as follows: recklessly extravagant; having spent everything. Most people tend to focus on the folly of the younger brother... but Keller makes the point that in the reaction of Father (Who is certainly a figure for God) we see a truer form of what it means to be a prodigal. The Father gives much wealth away to the son who squandors it... and then takes him back into the family. What that means is that the younger son is now an heir again. In the same way, God recklessly gives his grace to us, sinners, and accepts us as we are through his grace. That grace come through the CROSS where Jesus spend everything for us so that we can be accepted into the family of God! In that way he is the Prodigal God.

2. What does it mean to be an elder brother? This section has been convicting for me because I am elder brother. So many times I think that if I work hard for God he will reward me. That is what elder brothers do... they think if they live a good life they should get a good life. But the fact is that when I do that I putting myself in God's place. I am saying, "God I did this so I should get this." That is religion... it is not the Gospel. In the parable, the elder brother is furious at the Father because he accepts the younger son back. But that is exactly what God does with us! He recklessly gives us his grace! How often have we looked at someone and said "I am not as bad as that person?" Or when have we thought God should reward us for something we did? That is performance based religion. I hope and pray that I would be a person who lives out the grace of the Gospel and praises God for his prodigality to me!