Message by Yasas Fernando (Grade 4)
My dear Principal, Vice Principals, Chaplain, Teachers, Parents, and my dear students,
It’s a great joy for me to bring God’s word to you today. We are going to look at a story that Jesus told, the story of the prodigal son, found in Luke 15:11-31. But first, let me tell you the background to this story, found in verse 1 of Chapter 15. The so-called “sinners” at that time were drawing near to Jesus, and Jesus loved them. The religious people didn’t like that and started grumbling, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” Jesus loved all people, especially the sinners and the outcasts, which made the religious people very upset. So Jesus tells this story:
“There was a man who had two sons. And the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he wasted his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.”
Actually, Jesus tells this story for us to understand what God is like. He compares God to the Father in this story. So, today we are going to look at three qualities of God!
The younger son wanted to be independent of the father. He wanted to live his own way, which he thought would bring him a lot of pleasure and happiness. He loved money and used it to live the way he wanted to. But finally, he lost everything. He was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. The son realized that he himself was lost! Then he remembered his Father.
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father.”
The first quality of God that I want to tell you today is the Holiness of God. The son wanted to go back to the father, and he prepared a speech. The speech had three points. The first thing he wanted to tell his father was: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.” And that is true! God created us and loves us! But when we choose to live our own way, the Bible calls it sin! For example, God hates lies. When we lie to our parents, or when we lie to our children, we are not just sinning against our children; we are sinning against God! But why is it a sin against God? Because the Bible says that God is Holy! God hates sin, and one reason is that He loves us and sin destroys us.
So that’s the first thing he wanted to tell his father. What is the second thing? “I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” That is also true. Sinning against a Holy God is very serious, so we are not worthy to be called His children. What is the third thing he wanted to tell his father? “Treat me as one of your hired servants.” Now, a hired servant was someone who lived outside the home. A hired servant would work during the day and then go back to his own home. Why did the son want to be a hired servant? Maybe he thought, if he worked hard, little by little, the father would love and accept him. Don’t we all think like that? YES! Maybe if we keep our room tidy or sweep the house, our mothers might give us a chocolate. As adults, we think that if we work hard and buy a nice vehicle, people will love and accept us! Many religions also teach this: if we live a good life, care for the poor, go to church, pray many times a day, we can reach the top and even receive the love and acceptance of a Holy God! The son wanted to work his way up to the Father!
So now he has a three-point speech. He decided to go back home! So the first quality of God is that God is Holy.
The second quality is the Love of God. Let’s read the text: “And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion.”
Now, what did the father do? Let me remind you again, Jesus is telling this story to help us understand what God the Father is like. We are Trinitarians. What does Trinity mean? It means God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We need to know what God the Father is like. What does the father do? The father RUNS!! In ancient Middle Eastern cultures, wealthy old men didn’t run! It was a shameful thing for an old man to run! Even in our own culture, it is rare to see a father running when they see their son coming! But this father runs! In those days, wealthy old men wore long robes; he would have raised his robe and run!! That’s not all. Jesus goes into a lot of detail to help us understand the character of God. The father hugs the son and kisses the son!! This is the great affection of God! There is no God like this!
Now the son prepares to tell his speech. Which has how many points? Three points! He tells the first point: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.’ That is true! He tells the second point: ‘I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ And that is true as well! What was the third point? The third point is not there! Why? Because the father interrupts! The father calls his servants and tells them, “We are going to have a party! Because my son… Not my servant!… has come home. He was lost and now he is found!”
Now I want to remind you of the first two qualities of God:
No.1: The Holiness of God No.2: The Love of God
The third quality is the Grace of God. The father didn’t allow the son to be a hired servant. It’s actually the same with God. You see, God is so holy! No matter how many good works we do, we cannot go close to a Holy God. The Bible says that our good works are like filthy rags! That is why the Holy God came down to us! Grace is when we receive something we don’t deserve. Grace is when we receive a free gift. We don’t work towards it, but we get it for free!
Now, what is the older son’s response to all of this? He told his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you.’ He was upset about the celebration. He was focused on all the work that he did. He couldn’t understand GRACE! The world finds it very hard to understand grace because we are used to working hard to receive something.
One day, when I was about 2 years old, I did something wrong, and my father had to punish me. He punished me by putting me in the cot! I was so upset, I looked at my father and cried and cried and cried. Then my father saw that I was sorry. He raised me, and when he raised me, I held him tight, and my father held me even tighter. He wanted me to know that no matter what I do, I am his son, and he will always love me! I don’t have to work to receive his love!
When we return to God, we return to Him as sons and daughters, sons and daughters who are loved by a perfect father.
Now, why is grace so different from the way the world thinks? Everyone is working hard so that they can receive love and acceptance. But as Christians, we have already received love and acceptance. Therefore, we work hard! Do you see the difference? Grace pushes us to live a holy life. Grace pushes us to not lie anymore to our parents. God has done so much for me, so now I want to live for Him! Grace pushes us to love God and follow Him, to love the poor, to love our friends, even those who are unkind to us. Grace pushes us to love even our enemies.
My friends, we are all sinners, but God is ready to show us grace! Finally, I want to tell you that grace was free for us, but it came at a great cost for God! Let me explain! Someone said that when the son came home, the father should have given the son a big slap! And yes, he should have given a big slap! The Bible tells us that God is Just, and that He acts justly against all that is sinful and wrong! God has set a day in the future for His perfect justice to take place. But who is telling this story? It is Jesus! A few days later, after telling this story, Jesus went up on the cross and took that slap! What I mean is that Jesus was punished for your sin and my sin! Jesus is God’s Son, the second person of the Trinity. Grace is God’s free gift to us, but it came at a great cost for Jesus. Jesus shed His blood for you and me!
Today, we can become children of God if we receive Jesus and receive this gift of free forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Free for us, but it was very costly for Jesus! My friends, even a free gift must be received.
I want to close by reading something from the Gospel of John. Listen carefully: John Chapter 1:21 says, “to all who did receive Jesus, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”
Thanks be to God!
