Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
Like most of you I have been asking the Lord questions about my future. I believe He led me back to the one of my favorite Bible stories, the parable of the prodigal son, to give me some answers.
In the past few years the greatest thing I have gotten from this story is how awesome God the Father is and I have also gotten to know Him and myself much better. However, this is a different take on each of characters that I believe are key for the days ahead.
1. The younger brother
He represents the younger generation. The thing that marks the younger people is they eagerly pursue and easily receive their inheritance. I have never seen a generation that lay hold of spiritual things so easily and quickly. We have witnessed a generation of young men and women preaching with power, signs and wonders and experiencing some amazing encounters with the Lord.
The down side is this generation, like the younger brother, is very influenced and enticed by worldly things. There has never been a generation that has such readily and easy access to all that the world has to offer. This generation, more than any other, has proven true the Proverb that says, “An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning will not be blessed at the end (Prov. 20:21)”. But that is not the end of the story.
2. The older brother
He represents my generation. I noticed that when the father gave the younger brother his inheritance he also gave the older brother his (Luke 15:12). Most of us have missed that little important fact. Later in the story the older brother was upset that the father had received the younger brother back home and was throwing a party for him. The father told the older brother “You are always with me and all that I have is yours” (Luke 15:31). Unlike the younger generation my generation has struggled mightily to receive our inheritance and it has left some of us jaded, cynical and even angry like the older brother. Sill this is not the end of the story.
3. The father
This is the hopeful part. Although my generation has struggled, some have come into a revelation of the Father. The Holy Spirit has been revealing the Father in the last few years and some of us are becoming spiritual fathers. You become what, or rather whom, you behold (2 Cor. 3:18). The revelation of the Father has totally changed me, but I knew there was something more He wanted me to do with it. So here are a couple thoughts around that.
What does a spiritual father do? The Apostle John tells us exactly what a father is to do. “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning” (1 John 2:13). It is just to know the Father. That is our job description. If you will, just know Him because the day will come when they will need us to know Him.
Where are we going? I believe there will be a great revival amongst the young people of this nation and the nations. Many will come out of the pigpen of the world looking for God, the Father. They will be like Philip, “Show us the Father and it is enough” (John 14:8). They are going to find Him because we are going to be there.
Many Blessings, BW