Changed Behavior–A Demonstration of Love
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Have you ever wondered what became of the relationship between the prodigal son and his father in Luke 15? We know the first part of the story–the son demanded his inheritance, left his home, squandered everything he had, came to his senses, returned to his father, and sought forgiveness. There is a wonderful celebration because the son, that was lost, returned.
Then what? I want to know the end of the story. Did the son come back a changed person, or did he come back simply because he was hungry and hoped his father would take care of him? Did he join his older brother in working the farm? Did he start showing his father respect, or did he continue to take advantage of his father’s goodness without much real change in his life?
In my mind either of these pictures are possible outcomes. In recent days I’ve been talking about how much joy our confession brings to God. Unfortunately, however, confession does not always result in changed behavior. The father in the Prodigal Son story is thrilled that his son has returned. He accepts his son’s confession, almost dismissing it as unnecessary.
What if the son, though, spent the next three months sitting around the house doing nothing? What if, over time, the son forgot how awful his life was before returning home, and he started bad mouthing his father or demanding things from his father? Would these actions bring joy to his father? Of course not.
For me, this unappreciative scenario is very possible because it’s the scenario I live quite often. God shows me something in my life I need to address. I see the wrong and confess it as a demonstration of my love and respect for God. God is thrilled that I care enough to recognize my wrong. What happens next, however, is extremely important. Do I actually change my behavior as a continuation of my love and respect for what God wants in my life, or do I ignore the needed change?
Too often I ignore the needed change and try to convince myself that confession is enough. When I do that, however, I’m subtly relaying the message to God that I’m not willing to change; I’m not willing to bring my behavior in line with God’s desires for my life.
On the other hand, when I do take change seriously and work at correcting those wrong behaviors or wrong thoughts, I think God is very pleased. In that snapshot of love, I become like the prodigal son who returns home a changed person. I get up every morning with a different attitude, ready to join my brother(s) in doing the father’s will.
In recent weeks, I’ve been talking about snapshots of love–pictures of what loving God looks like. In this case, it looks like a young man transformed by his father’s forgiveness. It looks like a young man who rises early to milk the cows when he used to sleep in. It looks like a young man enthusiastically setting another fence post when he used to quit early and complain about the hard work. It’s the snapshot of changed attitudes and changed behavior.
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