One of the things I have a hard time doing is putting myself in the place of other people. You know, trying to imagine what they hear when people talk to them. No doubt others find that equally as challenging.
My current job is dealing with a lot of military veterans on the phone. One day someone said, “I know I’m just a number to you.” He was frustrated with the system, and understandably so. He’d been trying to get his Compensation and Pension exams done for a VA claim. The process takes a lot of time to get everything squared away to government specs.
To be honest, I can’t say I understood his frustration. I can say, “I can see why that’s frustrating to you,” things like that, but really there’s no way to “get” it unless you’ve been there.
Some of the same situations apply to reading the Bible.
For instance, when Jesus was telling the parable of the Prodigal Son, who was listening at that point? The chapter in Luke starts out by saying tax collectors and sinners were crowding in, but notice who else in mentioned: Pharisees and scribes.
For a few verses Jesus tells about a lost sheep and a lost silver coin, then launches into the longer story of the Prodigal son. It’s easy to see he’s talking about the “sinners” who have rejected God and gone their own way. “I want my inheritance now!” In essence the Prodigal was telling his dad, “I’d be better off if you were dead!”
Most people are familiar with the story. After living his own way for a while the Prodigal decided he’d really been better off with his dad - God. So he went home. That’s the Gospel message.
So nice. Repent and return to your Father in Heaven, and you’ll be better off. Right?
Well, yeah, but there’s more to the story. There’s an older brother who is ticked off. “Hey, old man, I’ve been stuck with you on this stinking farm for years, doing everything you tell me to. Then my idiot brother comes home and you waste the family resources by throwing him a party!”
So what’s he telling his dad? “That’s my inheritance you’re squandering. He,” meaning the Prodigal, “is a johnny-come-lately and doesn’t deserve what you’re giving him!”
Dad looks at the older brother, and says, “Everything I have is yours. You’re not getting cheated out of anything.”
I can imagine Jesus looking at the Pharisees and scribes when He says that. “You Pharisees, you’ve always had my love and devotion. Why would you resent the sinners for coming home?”
So what’s the real message of the Prodigal son?
“I don’t love you any less for loving them, too.”
In other words, like I told that veteran that day, “You’re more than a number to me.”
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