No longer your own

When we consider the parable of the prodigal son in the Gospel of Luke, we gain an understanding of Christ’s redemptive work in our lives. Luke 15:11-24. This parable tells the story of a rebellious young man who asked his father for his share of the family estate. He then left home and travelled to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance with loose living. If we assume this son was the second of two brothers, his inheritance would have amounted to one third of the capital value of the family enterprise. It would have been a difficult scenario for the father to divide up his property in this way and yet he still managed to give the young fellow his share.

When he had spent his last cent and became impoverished because famine gripped the land, the prodigal came to his senses and returned home saying, ‘I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.’ Luke 15:19. But the father had compassion on his son and welcomed him back into the family, restoring all that he had lost. The father reinvested in his son and gave back to him. When Christ redeems us with His blood, He also gives back to us by restoring our inheritance. We become sons of the Father again and we recover the natural abilities that He has ordained for us.

We must never undersell or underrate our redemption; nor should we presume upon it. When we were redeemed, it cost a portion of Christ’s precious blood to buy us back from our state of squandered destruction. We may have grown up in the church all our lives, but it still doesn’t alter the fact that we were dead in our trespasses and sin. Every person, from the age of sixteen through to about twenty years, must negotiate this crisis of salvation or redemption. We are not our own, and therefore, our abilities are no longer our own. They have been purchased by Christ when He paid the price to ransom and redeem us. The free gift of God is eternal life, but salvation isn’t free at all; it has a capital value. It cost the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to buy us back.

Of course, we are all delighted to be redeemed. But it means that we no longer have the freedom to do what we like with our lives or our abilities, although we must manage them as ‘good stewards of the manifold grace of God’. 1 Pet 4:10. In order to do this, we must firstly be trained. Whether we are young or old, we are obligated to be trained. Christ wants to give us our eternal reward, which is a double portion of His blessing and the second portion of our inheritance. We received the first portion when He redeemed us and gave back to us what we had squandered. He reinvested in us and bought us back from the dead, but in so doing He now owns us. We must, therefore, use our abilities in His service and to further His kingdom. They are no longer our own to do with as we please.

David Falk

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Feature Articles
October 2009

Grace to you

The trumpet of God

Ascending praise

The path of the just

A church community

No longer your own

Where is wisdom?
- Part 1

Asking and receiving

Our greatest support

Confidence to endure