I surrender all
Look! For so many years I have been serving you, and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a kid that I might be merry with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with harlots, you killed the fattened calf for him.
My son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. Luke 15:29-31
Jesus told a parable to demonstrate His statement, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10 It was the parable of the Prodigal Son.
The younger son demanded that his father divide his wealth between the two sons and give the younger son his portion, instead of waiting until the father died.
The younger son left the family and squandered his wealth. When he found himself in a pig pen longing for what the pigs were eating, he realized that his father’s servants were better off than he was, and he decided to return to his father and ask to become a servant.
The father saw the son in the distance and ran towards him, embracing and kissing him. The father put a robe and ring on the returned son and called for a party.
The older son heard about it and confronted the father.
Look! For so many years I have been serving you, and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a kid that I might be merry with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with harlots, you killed the fattened calf for him. Luke 15:29-30
That would be my retort.
My son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. Luke 15:31
The older son already had the fattened calf. He could have killed the calf and celebrated with his friends any time, but he did not take advantage of what he had.
Heirs of the Inheritance
- God’s children are heirs of His kingdom. Both sons were heirs. The younger son chose to leave the father, take his monetary inheritance with him and squander it. The older son chose to stay with the father, work in the estate, and build it.
- In His presence, God’s children can possess all that the Father has. The older son worked hard for the Father, serving him. The older son does not speak of the joy of remaining with the Father, of experiencing his inheritance.
Possessing the Kingdom
Before the Lord healed me of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, I meditated on these Scriptures and wondered about my inheritance.
Was my inheritance a life filled with pain and fatigue?
What if I were like the older son in the parable, thinking of my life with the Father as a life of hard work and service rather than basking in the presence of the Father?
But we had to be merry and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found. Luke 15:32
The younger son spent his inheritance, but he began to live when he realized his hopelessness and returned to his father, asking to be treated as a servant. That’s when the celebration began, and he entered into the joy of the father. He surrendered all.
Broken, destitute, empty. No hope within the younger son, himself.
No hope within me. The doctors could no longer help me, I had run out of magical cures and ideas of what I could do to make myself better.
The Father healed me when I came to Him as a completely broken woman, telling Him that all I wanted was more of Him, more of His presence.
In His presence is fullness of joy, the fullness of the inheritance of the kingdom.
My prayer for you
Heavenly Father, may we enter Your Presence with abandon. We want to possess all that You have for us. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit and guide us as we serve You with gladness and joy.
Won’t you share how you are possessing your inheritance in the Kingdom of God?
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