FACING DOWN AN UNHEALTHY FEAR OF GOD
Scripture: Luke 15: 11-31
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
This verse tells us that reverence for God is the starting point for all wisdom and that knowing God is to have understanding. People act in certain ways that impact on us and give us an inaccurate view of God. These actions are generally negative and painful for many people to recall.
Negative components in different kinds of fathers.
1. The over-critical teacher. Nothing is ever enough for him. He is hard on everyone around them. If He is not careful his criticism will give his children an unhealthy view of God. In contrast, God is the One who cares for us and remembers where we come from. He remembers that we are dust and has compassion on us even if we aren't perfect.
2. The absentee Father This father is remote in his power and control. In contrast, God walks with us and we are present and accounted for in His thinking.
3. The no-nonsense Father. The No-nonsense boss demands that a job get done. With this model love and approval are conditional.
In contrast, God desires our fellowship without performance.
4. The abusive father. Many people view God as a ferocious tiger. If you do the right things, maybe he will be kind to you, but you never know when he may turn on you and terrible things will happen. This parent often beats his kids into submission. He controls his children by instilling deep-seated fear. In contrast, God leads the way through love and grace.
Some Positive Considerations
The Bible presents a balanced view of God and His relationship with us.
(Romans 8:15,16) We have used these two verses often because they are important to reveal God as a father. This verse shows us the relationship His children have with Him. "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."1. Family-like relationship with God.
Jesus used this expression when he prayed.
(Mark 14:36) and taught His disciples to pray using the same terms (Luke 11:1-2).2. Self-sacrifice Of God. He gave himself up for us. He is a loving father who sacrificed himself on behalf of His children. God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were yet sinners he died for us
. (John 10:9,10)There is a balance in the way God responds to His children.
(Luke 15:11-30) Nowhere can we see this more clearly than in the story of the prodigal son and the older brother. This is a parable that demonstrates the contrast between an unhealthy view of God and a sound regard for Him.
First, remember that Jesus is giving a parable comparing the older brother to the Pharisees and the younger brother to tax collectors and sinners who gathered to hear Jesus. In the parable Jesus represents the Father. The two brothers show us the contrasting responses of the Pharisee and the sinner to their father.
The Younger Son
The younger son is being wild, rebellious, non-compliant. He pushes the limits with his father throughout his life. His father and mother probably spend many sleepless nights talking and praying about what to do with this wild and unmanageable son. One day, the unthinkable happens. This younger son has the audacity to ask for his inheritance while his father is still living. According to Jewish law, the older son as the heir is to receive a double portion while the younger son receives a single portion. To give them their inheritance early is very unusual but the father does it anyway.
The father distributes the inheritance to both his sons. When the father does this he gives up a good bit of his own security. This means he is making a great sacrifice on his part.
The Father lets his younger son go. Soon, the younger son's passion for adventure takes over and he leaves home. He liquidates all his assets. He goes to a far country and wastes his wealth on wild living, prostitutes, heavy drinking and living on the streets. Today, that would be a dangerous thing to do and probably was then. The father lets his son go to indulge in his sinful life. This is what God does with us. He practices tough love.
The son finds himself penniless in the middle of a famine. Imagine a Jewish boy required to feed pigs! That's as low as he can get. He is so hungry that he desires to eat the husks that the pigs leave. He degenerates into a scavenger, eating whatever he can find in the garbage.
If we choose to sin against the father he won't zap us. No, it is sin that will get us. We will suffer the natural fallout of sin until it is fully played out in our lives.
(James 1:13-15) God is a loving father who longs to forgive us and bring us back into his heart and home. Sin, by contrast, is a cruel taskmaster who will keep rubbing the consequences of our sin in our faces until we get sick of it and return to the father."When he came to his senses." The prodigal is turning around. Suddenly the blinders fall off. The reality of what he has done and what are important hits home.
In review, consider what this father did. He let his wild son go. He didn't follow him to the pigpens. He allowed him the freedom to waste his life. You see, He didn't a cosmic ATF or FBI agent, or police officer or a paramedic following us around, keeping us from ruining our lives if that is what we choose to do. He let him go to indulge in his sin until he came to his senses and returned to the Father. This is what happened to this younger son, and this is how God the Father deals with us. This is tough love
The younger son decides to come back home and the father gives him a warm welcome.
(Luke 15:17-20) "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." His heart overflows for his son who had abused him so badly. He runs down the road, reaches his son, embraces him and forgives him. He doesn't give his son a chance to say a word.The son finally gets a chance to give the little prepared speech he had planned about his change of mind. This was necessary for his healing. However, he finds that his father is more interested in getting him cleaned up, dressed up and restored to his family. He knows that his son was as good as dead but now he is alive and well.
The Older Brother
About that time the older brother comes home, hears the commotion from outside and calls a servant to find out what is going on. The servant tells him that his brother has come back home and his father is putting on a great celebration. The older brother is furious. The father goes out to talk to this older son, inviting him into the party but the son refuses. What a difference in attitude! He distances himself from his brother; he refused to go in, and to use a contemporary expression, acts like a jerk. He says to his father, "After all I have done for you, this son of yours, who has squandered your property with prostitutes, comes home, and you kill the fattened calf for him." Anger, envy, bitterness, malice, all comes to the surface.
This son lived a compliant and obedient life but it wasn't a life of joy. He may have served faithfully and obediently, taken care of the daily responsibilities but never out of a sense of joy. This young man never developed his father's gracious and merciful attitude. He was self-righteous, legalistic, and judgmental of his brother and refused to have anything to do with him. His attitude showed the way he thought his father should act toward his brother. Leave him in the pigpen. Let God punish him for his sin. He deserves punishment and hell. He's not our kind of people. Have nothing to do with Him.
The father pleads with him. V 31,32 it is a classic response. "My son, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." The father uses a play on words. The elder son says, 'this son of yours;' the loving father says, 'this brother of yours.' The older brother accuses his father of not treating the younger brother the way he deserves to be dealt with. The father reminds the older brother that this is his brother who was dead and is now alive. The brother never grieved for his younger brother as the father had.
From the human side, to us who are husbands and fathers, this parable sets the example of what kind of Father God is. As we experience His graciousness and mercy to us that is demonstrated in firmness, let those attitudes permeate our relationships with our children. It is never too late to begin. Of course, fathers have to earn respect from their children. This will provide stability in our families.
From God's point of view, our heavenly father is waiting for us as Christians to come into fellowship with him. He will never force us against our will. He will always respect our freedom of choice. Let us choose to set aside our unhealthy view of God that we may have developed by default, rather than by design and enter into a loving, redemptive relationship with Him. "Our God is too good to be unkind and too wise to make mistakes."
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This whole parable demonstrates the relationship of the father to the son. If you have never been born again, you do not have a relationship with the Father. Jesus came to reveal the father to you. He died for your sins and is waiting for you to receive Him. " . . .to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."