dude, it's like i'm on fire, or something. ri-vet-ed..

a million realizations that just keep coming and coming.. daniel.. we're the OLDER son!!

in the GIG last night (God Investigative Group) we looked at the passage of the Prodigal son.. and just dialogued about it.. and the part about the older son wasn't on the paper, but it didn't matter.. God was showing me anyway... the younger son seemed to forfeit his rights as son by leaving & being a rejecting loser.. but dude, both sons forfeited their sonship.. it's just that the younger one was bold enough to act on it and have his outer life reflect his inner rejection of the Father who loved him. and the older son.. he rejected the Father too.. he just lived outwardly like "the good son".. but when he said those things to his dad, it revealed that he knew nothing of the position he really had as a son.

and that's the thing.. the story of the prodigal son is actually just proof of the Father's character. no matter what the sons stinkin' do, who the Father is doesn't change one bit. He cares more about the sons being with Him, than He cares about what they do. and they don't have to do anything to be His, the just have to beHis.

i mean, the story was meant for Jesus talking about the Pharisees as the older son.. which seems to be always the category in which we are most prone to falling.. we've been with the Father for such a long time.. since early childhood.. but when we lapse, it is not in outer stuff, because we can seem as though we've been "good kids" all along. but when we reject our "sonship" we miss out on.. dang, on everything He's already given to us...

what is that life? i think that's the elusive "kingdom of God" deal again! the kingdom of God is how those sons would really be living if they accepted & embraced their positions as sons of that loving Father, with all rights, priviledges, and even responsibilities (the suffering your dad told us about on Sunday).. dude, all of it.. it leads to glory...