"A servant does not abide in the house forever, but
a son does abide forever." - John 8:35
Think about that for a moment. Put a story together in your
mind about how that would look. A servant / slave / maid doesn't stay in the
master's house forever, but a son does. Let me put something out for you...
Suppose a multi billionaire has a servant that cleans the
home, runs after the family and serves in whichever way is required. He is an
employee and as employee, receives a wage for the work he does. He may even
have a bonus scheme worked into his package. No matter how well this servant
treats the master billionaire, runs after his wife and cleans up after their
son; a time comes where at the end of the day he has to leave. He retires to
the his servant quarters. He may receive his bonus and maybe even a meal. But
he still has to leave.
Lets say that same billionaire has a son who's as lazy as
hell, doesn't bother to work, sleeps until 10 am, hasn't the foggiest idea how
to tidy up after himself and sucks whatever he can get out of his father's
wealth in order to support his cravings for gadgets, computers and the like.
This son may be the laziest, most ungrateful kid in the land, but he stays with
his father. His poor performance doesn't change the fact that he's still the
son of a billionaire. His father still welcomes him at the dinner table, to his
private bedroom for chats as they lie on the bed, his father is still willing
to pay for his son's studies at any learning institution in the world. No
amount of laziness, lack of gratitude or bad performance could ever kick the
son out of the billionaire's house. It was his father's home.
In the story, no matter how well the servant treats his
master and performs in his job; he's still the servant and he has no permanent
place in the father's home. No matter how well he performs, he'll never be
welcome at the father's table, into his room or more importantly, into his
heart. The best he'll get is a 13th cheque and a pat on the back. He's a
servant. He works hard, he does his job to the best of his ability because he
works for a wage. At the end of the day he has to leave.
The son however, never has to fear being thrown out or
scared about being disowned. His bad behavior can never un-make his sonship. He
never earned his sonship through good behavior in the past. He was born to the
billionaire. He was born into intimacy. No matter what he does, there is always
place at his day's table or besides him in his bed and most definitely in his
father's heart. He's a son. Forever and ever. A son.
"A servant does not abide in the house forever, but
a son does abide forever." - John 8:35
Hey Ross,
ReplyDeleteI love what you're saying about our inheritance! A son of God will never lose his inheritance. His performance can't improve or detract from his inheritance. A wonderful truth from God's Word!
I have a question though: How do you know if you are a son? What are the signs / marks of a true son of God? I mean, we know that not everybody who calls themselves a Christian really is one, right? So how do we know a faker from the real deal?
Hey Nick,
ReplyDeleteThis article is primarily showing the comparison between a son and a servant. Jesus' intention is for us to KNOW that we are sons in the Kingdom and not servants...it's got to do with how we see ourselves. Jesus wants US to see ourselves the way our FATHER sees us i.e. Luke 16.
Your question - that's an article for another time my cuzzy.
Fair enough bro...
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I asked is, though I agree 100% with the Biblical principle you're presenting concerning sonship, you've described a son that is lazy, ungrateful, drains his father's wealth for the love of worldly passions (gadgets), doesn't work and seems to be an outright loser. While I would agree that the above things can describe the behavior of God's children at times, I would strongly disagree that anybody who lives a permanent lifestyle such as that unrepentantly, or whose character can be defined as a whole by those traits, could be a real son of the living God. An imposter, maybe, but not a son.
One can tell a lot about a father by his children. Now children can be unruly at times, throw tantrums when they're tired, get easily upset and generally embarrass their parents in public. That doesn't mean they have a bad father, it just means they're children. A good father, though, will lovingly (and if he can, patiently :D) correct such behavior in his children. He won't allow them to continue that way unchecked. I know that you and Mandy are fantastic parents because I have seen how you love and correct your children when they act up. The best father of them all is God. While God's children will sometimes act up and err in the areas you've described above, He certainly won't allow them to continue that way unchecked, and He will definitely and lovingly correct them as a good father does. While we can be lazy, ungrateful, unruly, following worldly passions etc, that sort of behavior in a son of God would be more the exception than the norm.
I understand why you described the son that way though, considering the context and point you were making in your article, which I think is a really good one by the way. I just thought this was a point worth making.
I enjoy your work bro! Always encouraging and a blessing. Keep going!
Hey Buddy!
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree. Thank God he accepts us the way we are but loves us too much to leave us that way. Christians will reflect Christ inevitably.