Stan & Lana – Founders & Senior Leaders of Jesus Unltd & GodIsGoodTV Satellite Television Network
Dear Friends and Partners,
From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your ongoing support of our mission. Your unwavering faithfulness and generosity are a great encouragement and a powerful testimony of living Christian love. Because of people like you, we are able to continue bringing the light of the Gospel, serving those in need, and being the answer to many people’s prayers. You are a part of God’s plan, and we sincerely thank the Lord for you.
Let’s turn to the parable of the prodigal son, found in Luke chapter 15. Usually, we focus on the contrast between the younger son and the older son. But today, I want to draw your attention to what they had in common.
Why did the younger son leave his father’s house? Because he believed that all the exciting and vibrant moments of life could only be found out in the world. Perhaps he came to that conclusion after watching his older brother—always working hard, with no holidays, no celebrations (Luke 15:29).
So the younger son decided that real life, with all its thrill and adventure, was passing him by. And who wants a dull, joyless life? That’s why he asked his father for his share of the inheritance and left for a place he imagined would be more fun and fulfilling. But eventually, those “pleasures of life” led him to misery and humiliation, leaving him in a pitiful, swine-like state.
But what did the older son have in common with the younger one? The older son also believed that life in his father’s house had no real joy. Unlike his younger brother, he didn’t have the courage to leave. He stayed with the father, but he was constantly frustrated and bitter about having to work so hard. Just like his younger brother, he failed to understand that the father’s house was a place of joy and celebration.
The parable ends with the father throwing a great feast for the returning prodigal son. He also invited the older son to join the celebration. But the older son’s rigid religiosity and his obsession with obedience kept him from enjoying the feast. Instead, he became angry and resentful toward the father he had so faithfully served all those years (Luke 15:28).
The point of this parable is that neither of the sons truly knew their father’s heart. Both of them believed that the life of faith was all about following rules and bearing heavy burdens. They didn’t realize that the heart of the Christian life is enjoying the love of the Father—“who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17).
Now think about your own life. What does Christianity mean to you? Maybe you’re like the older son. You follow all the rules, you try to live right, but deep down you feel bored and joyless.
Or maybe you’re like the younger son. You’ve built your own set of values that go against God’s Word. So whenever you want to relax or have fun, you turn to whatever the world offers.
But how can your life change? How can you stop missing out on the real joy and fullness that only God can give? The answer is this: we need to truly know the heart of God the Father. Then we will understand how deeply He loves us and how generously He gives us everything we need to enjoy life in His house.
When you receive the Spirit of God’s love, you will experience what’s written in 1 John 4:16: “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” In other words, when we truly believe that God loves us, we begin to experience His love in a real way. And when we are filled with God’s love, our relationship with Him becomes close and personal, and we begin to sense His presence in every part of our lives.
#FromHeartToHeart Stan & Lana
Founders & Senior Leaders of Jesus Unltd
& GodIsGoodTV Satellite Television Network
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