The younger son is typically the son referred to as the prodigal son in the parable and is the one who goes off and spends everything he has. We first see the younger son in Luke 15:12 when he is asking the father for his inheritence now. Understand, for him to ask such a request is incredibly rude and disrespectful to the father. The younger son is in essence saying, “I only want the material things you can offer me. I wish you were dead now so I could have my inheritence.” Culturally speaking, a son who would make such a request during Jesus’ time would probably have been disowned by the father and cut off from any possible inheritence. This obviously doesn’t happen in the story though.

The younger son is given his portion of the inheritence and he departs to a far away land where he lives a lavish life of sin and spends everything he’s been given. Once he’s expended all of his resources, the younger son begins to feel the pain and hunger. In Luke 15:17 we read, “But when he came to himself…”. Folks, the younger son hit rock bottom and then had a realization. It took him loosing all he had before he realized that being with his father was better than all the lavish living he could do. The son decides to go back to his father’s house and plead with him, to allow him to be but a servant in his father’s house. He understands that being even a servant in his father’s house is better than the sin on his own.

The son heads back home but before he can begin pleading with his father he is accepted back into the house as the son he is. The father won’t allow him to be a servant because he maintains him as his son. What amazing grace the father gives the younger son. My friends, the younger son represents one of two ways we rebel against the father. The younger son represents the open disobedience to the father. The younger son represents those of us who wish to waste the Lord’s gifts as we pursue the carnal pleasures of the world.

Friends, are you living your life simply for your own pleasure? Do you seek only those things that make you ‘happy‘? What is more important to you, your own pleasure and happiness or God’s Word enacted in your life? Would you rather be in God’s presence or would you rather live a lavish life of debauchery and sin? Do you love the Father for who He is or do you only want Him for what He can give you? Are you asking Him for your inheritance now? Friends, this is a question we MUST meditate on because all too often we’re actually seeking Him only for His resources and not for His relationship.

If you’re currently living in that far away land, wasting all the Father’s resources, I beg you, turn and run to the Father. He’s waiting for you with open arms and desires to return you to your position as His son or daughter. You haven’t sinned to greatly…you can’t out sin His Grace. Turn today and run back to your Father. He loves you and wants to be in a relationship with you. AMEN!

In John 21:3 we find Peter going back to fishing. This was the profession he was in before Jesus called him to leave it all in order to follow Him. Peter had not gone fishing since the day he left it to follow Jesus. However, Jesus was killed on the cross and Peter didn’t believe He was risen. (Mark 16:9-14) Since Peter didn’t believe, he turned back to the thing he knew before Jesus; fishing. All night Peter toiled and caught nothing. He was fruitless!

My friends, we are in the same position as Peter. We can either disbelieve in the resurrected Jesus and be fruitless or we can believe in Him and bear much fruit. Believing in the resurrected Jesus means we leave our old life in the past and don’t return to it. Believing means we live for Him since He died for us. Folks, this is a complete surrender of our will. This means we spend much time in prayer, in the Word, in fellowship, in outreach, this means we’re obedient and pursue His will. Folks, the resurrected Jesus should completely transform who we are. If our life isn’t transformed we must take a close assessment of our belief in the resurrected Jesus.

Friends, Easter should change who you are. Every day we must come back to the resurrected Jesus and put down our nets in order to be fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19) So let me ask you again; How has Easter changed your life? AMEN!