Anchor for 4th April 2020

Our Anchor scripture is in Luke 15:11-32: The Parable of the Prodigal Son.

The whole chapter of Luke 15 is dedicated to divine restoration and recovery of what has been lost. The chapter began with the story of the lost sheep (Lk. 15:1-7), then the lost coin (Lk. 15:8-10) and finally the lost son (prodigal son, Lk. 15:11-32). As we conclude the study of the life of the elder brother of the prodigal son, we look at the final lesson that we can draw from this interesting and illuminating story.

Lesson 4: Luke 15:25-32
From the story, the elder brother was committed to kingdom service, lived a holy life and was obedient to the Father, yet his life lacked the blessing and reward of kingdom service due to IGNORANCE. Ignorance can rub us of the benefits of kingdom service! According to the story, when the Father divided the inheritance (vs 12), the remaining things in the house actually belonged to him, on demand; but he was not aware of this important fact so never made a demand to what rightfully belonged to him.

The prodigal son that wasted his substance (inheritance) with riotous living, returned home and still enjoyed part of the brother’s inheritance (the fatted cow). The elder brother, due to ignorance – not knowing what belonged to him, saw his Father as a wicked task master. Apart from rubbing us of our blessings, ignorance can lead to offenses in God.

So, to enjoy the best of God, we must strive to know Him more via His Word and what belongs to us in Christ. It is a great disservice to God to serve Him without expecting to be blessed or rewarded in return (Heb. 11:6 – He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him).

In conclusion, in this season, we should place a demand on our inheritance or reward that is due to us as Christians – in the area of divine exemption from evil and healing from any form of sicknesses or diseases (Ex. 23:25-26).

God bless you, and do have a restful Weekend!