“What do we need to escape the shackles of our particular brand of lostness?” asks Tim Keller. We’ve discussed the heart condition of both the younger and older brother, concluding that they were estranged from their father by their desire for his goods, rather than his affection. The author says the only one who can change “the dynamic of the heart” from fear and anger to love, joy and gratitude is the true older brother.
Here are just a few questions we considered in our discussion of this chapter:
- Did you learn anything new or was your thinking changed about what it means to truly repent in the discussion beginning on page 75?
- The author says, “we must also repent of the reasons we ever did anything right. Pharisees only repent of their sins, but Christians repent for the very roots of their righteousness, too.” (page 78) This sounds like crazy talk! Is this different than the way most people understand repentance… the way you have approached repentance in the past?
- Keller speaks of “the festival joy of salvation” – what does he mean by that, as it relates to the parable? Have you ever thought of salvation in these terms before?
- How does this parable differ from the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin in Luke 15?
- Who bears the loss in mercy and forgiveness? What did it cost the father to bring his younger son home? What did it cost the elder brother? What did it cost to bring you home?
- On page 85, the author speaks of two cups in a powerful word play. What emotions, if any, were stirred when you read that paragraph?
December 26th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
I’m intrigued by question #5. What does it cost me to see someone else enter into the “celebration”. I have never really looked at it under that “lens” before. But that is very true. There is a cost. Maybe more like an investment.
I have always been amazed by the missionary Jim Elliott who in one of his letters to his wife talked about his life being like a candle consumed for the Lord. What a way to view our life. Every breath we take is being used to build the kingdom and bring others to Christ. It cost Jim Elliott his life. Everything we do for the Lord costs us something. We can look at this as God taking away from us that which we worked hard for (as the elder brother did) or see it as it really is….. the ability to share in the promotion of the gospel.