Amazing Love and Grace

Luke 15:11-22 11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet.

In this story, the Father is representing Father God and the prodigal or lost son represents you and I. The nature of the human flesh is to move away from Father God and spend our time and resources in the world. The human flesh does not want to go to church. It does not want to pray. It does not want to read the Word and it does not want to worship. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. The human flesh wants to have the most fun and party it up before it decides to serve God. The human flesh puts God last.

This story illustrates God's amazing Grace. If we only knew the depth of His Grace and if we could truly understand the breath, width, height, and depth of His Love, we would know ourselves as true sinners who have fallen so short of His Glory and we would fall in love with HIM. But because of our limited mind and capacity, our flesh continues to resist the Holy Spirit's Love. But in order to grasp this amazing Grace and Love, we must come to brokenness and become nothing.

The flesh is always trying to live and survive. However, in order to find resurrected live and find life abundance, we must die to ourselves. We must put all the nature of the flesh to death. We must be crucified with Christ. We must die to anger, hate, impatience, lack of love, hurt, abuse, rejection, self preservation, lust, coveting, drunkenness, marriage to the world, and etc. For such things will NOT inherit the Kingdom of God. This is not a theory or theology but a practice or exercise unto righteousness. We must draw on HIS Grace to walk in HIS righteousness.

How is this amazing Grace? The prodigal son repented in verse 18 stated how he had sinned against heaven and father. But the son did not come back because he knew he was a sinner. The son had come back because he was hungry. His flesh was hungry and he had come for the survival of his flesh. Many people come to find Jesus not because HE is God. They come to find him because their lives may be in chaos, distress, or bottomed out. Would such people have found Jesus if their outcome was the opposite? But yet, God does not reject us but HE uses even such situations to welcome us. In verse 20, Father saw him coming and filled with love and compassion ran to his son. Did we really run to HIM? No, HE ran to us.

The son did not come seeking to restore his relationship with his father but he had come because he was hungry. But yet, father saw and ran to him first. Father embraced him and kissed him. Our God had found you and I. You did not find HIM. HE had embraced and kissed you and I first. Father put His finest robe, His ring, and His sandals on our feet and we had not deserved any of it. We think we had found HIM. We had come for the wrong reasons. But HIS Love and Grace is so amazing. HE Loves us because we are HIS creation and HIS image.

But now that the son has returned, the son must do what the Father wills. The past and the things of the world must be left behind. We must not look behind anymore. Our life is now God. HE is our First Love. Our life should be consumed with HIM.

Sadly, today, the prodigal son is looking back to the world. Our churches are spending less time with HIM. We are worshiping HIM less. We are praying less. We are reading less. Our services are but crumbs to HIM. We are falling away and forsaking HIM again. We uses excuses saying that was then but this is now. We are too busy with the world once again and living loosely.

Does God send the famine because HE wants to starve us? We must understand HIS Love and we will understand HIS judgments. HE must send the famine once more so that HIS people may return to HIM. The famine will bring brokenness to a stubborn people.

May you all come to know this Amazing LOVE.

Mark 9:49-50 (AMP) For everyone shall be salted (tested) with fire. 50 Salt is good (beneficial), but if salt has lost its saltness, how will you restore [the saltness to] it? Have salt within yourselves, and be at peace and live in harmony with one another.

Fire of God Church
An International Holy Fire Ministry
Pastor Steve Yong Kim
Fremont, California USA