May 5, 2017 by

Redemption

You might already have what you’re asking for

28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours….’
Luke 15:28-31

Part of living in the Kingdom as a son or daughter involves an understanding of what is already in our possession. What we see with the older son’s response to his father, and his father’s response to him, makes the issue very plain.

…I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends.
…’Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.’

Wow. It’s a bit heartbreaking isn’t it? “…all that is mine is yours” and he never even saw it that way.

The older son spent a significant portion of his life not just focused on the wrong things but completely missing the right things, the things that he didn’t have to or need to work for. The older son’s focus on gaining favor and a reward for his effort blinded him to what was rightfully and already his.

I can’t help but ask God if I do this in my own life…

How much am I missing because I think it’s outside my reach?

What things am I asking for (or not even bold enough to ask for) that you’ve already joyfully placed in my possession?

Am I spending my strength to somehow gain your favor? To catch your attention?

While this portion of the parable is small, the truth of it stands with towering presence. It would be heartbreaking to spend our lives working for what is already ours.

Take some time asking God these questions on your own. See if the Holy Spirit won’t begin highlighting passages of Scripture that clearly reveal what is yours now, what you rightfully have access to. Ask him for a heart and mind that is willing to agree with, and stand in, the truth as He reveals it.

There is much we’ve been given already. Maybe we just need to start using it.

Originally published on JoshMotlong.com

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