The Grace-Full Fathert (episode 15)

0:00 Do you love a prodigal? Do you feel like you are lost in a scary and endless wilderness? Welcome to the When You Love a Prodigal podcast. I am Judy Douglass and I spent more than 15 years in that wilderness. I believe together we will discover help and hope for your journey. Welcome back. Today we wrap up our series on grace. Though you could never wrap up grace, there's too much of it. I hope our look at God's grace to us, which He wants us to pass on to our loved ones, has been helpful to you. Now, perhaps you know the story of the prodigal son. In ancient times, a man had two sons, a dutiful older son and a wild younger son. The younger son decided he was weary of working the land, knowing his big brother would get two-thirds and he would get only one-third when their father died. So he demanded his share from his father now. The father sold some land and livestock in order to give him his share then and not later. The young man took off to a far country, found many friends who were attracted to his wealth. They lived wild lives until the money ran

1:32 out. Suddenly our boy was abandoned, broke, hungry. He ended up with a job feeding pigs. What could be worse? Then he came to a census. He thought, the hired servants at my father's estate have food to eat and a place to sleep. I will go home, tell my father I'm not worthy to be his son and ask him to hire me to work. Now that is my paraphrase, a part of the story in Luke 15. It is commonly called the story of the prodigal son. I call it the story of the graceful father, the father who is full of grace. How does it end? Here's the rest of the story in a different way and a little of my story. So here's what the father did in response. He gave him his inheritance. He let him go. He did not go after him. He watched and waited and I'm sure he prayed. When looking out one day he sees him coming, he doesn't say, there is that nuisance son of mine who took all my money and spread it around and here he comes back now with nothing. No, here's what the father did. He ran to

3:05 him. He grabbed him and embraced him. He kissed him. He put his coat on him and his sandals on him and his ring on him and then he threw him a party. He reinstated him in the family. Does this make sense? No. Did the son deserve such grace? No. Going to my story, here's what I have done. I could make a long list of my sins, all the usual ones, generally not the big ones. I have sought to follow him, obey him, live in love like Jesus and too often I have failed. Over the years I have sometimes disobeyed, shamed, dishonored, abandoned, misused my heavenly father and his generous gifts. Here's what my father has done. He created me in his image for definite purposes. He pursued me, purchased me with blood, redeemed me, forgave me. He adopted me as his very own love daughter. He invited me into his presence, talked with me, enjoyed me. He welcomed me back over and over every time after I sent.

4:41 He extended amazing grace to me. Does this make sense? No. Do I deserve such grace? No. So here's what my prodigal has done. He's done many prodigal things, lied, stolen, disrespected us. He's used and abused alcohol, drugs, girls, our home. He went through many cars in a few years. He spent a brief time in juvenile detention and in jail. Okay, I will stop. Those cover most of the big things. There were other smaller ones. My response to our son, I tried to do what we are told we should do, establish boundaries, enforce consequences. I even helped him to move out. I got counseling for him and for us. I sought advice, listened, scolded, pleaded, prayed. I welcomed him back, encouraged him, homeschooled him. I extended much grace. I have done some things well with him, other things not well at all. I have made many mistakes,

6:12 but I have chosen grace over and over. Does he deserve the grace given over and over? No. Was I right to give such grace? Yes. Absolutely yes. How can this be? Why did the Father give grace to the Son? Why did God give grace to me, to you? Why would I give grace to this Son who for 15 years made life hard for us? Grace reflects the generosity of God. It is who he is. It is what he does. God loves to give grace. He tells us that grace is sufficient for every need in our life. It is more than enough for any challenge, any great loss, or overwhelming opportunities, and unbearable pain. It is enough for living through and seeking to woo back that loved one who has gone to the far land. In these four episodes on grace, we have barely scratched the surface on the height and width and depth of God's grace. I have not intended to be exhaustive on this incomprehensible topic, but here are

7:49 a few more things I want to mention about grace. It is such an important thing to understand. Grace is an undeserved free gift, undeserved favor, undeserved love, and it is more than enough for any person, circumstance, tragedy, need, opportunity. God's grace has made his love and salvation and provision, everything he offers, available to us. There is a catch. In order to live in his grace, we must receive his grace. A lot of us don't have a clue how to do that. He gives us a little understanding of who will be able to truly access and experience that grace. Those who are humble, humility is the way we access that grace. He gives us more grace, James tells us in chapter 4. That is why scripture says, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. When we are proud, when we think we can do it ourselves, when we think we don't have a need, the grace is waiting. But when we recognize our inability to live the kind of life that God asks us to live, that God gives us to live,

9:24 including loving our prodigals, that is when the grace is available. Knowing our need brings the humility that the grace is poured out on us. That grace is abundantly sufficient. We are saved by grace as well, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast. God freely gives the grace that saves us, we cannot earn salvation. And it is that same freely given grace that will save our prodigals. Keeping the rules, doing the right things, not doing the wrong things, none of this will save them or us. Only grace is sufficient to save us. And then God tells us something else wonderful. Grace enables good works.

10:30 People think they can earn their way to God by doing good works, but he says, oh no, even that is a grace gift. In 2 Corinthians 9 it says, God is able to make all grace abound of you so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Grace gives us the means and the strength and the wisdom and the courage and whatever is needed to do the good to others in our world and to our loved ones. The good works, doing the right thing, not doing the wrong thing, these all matter and are desirable, but we can't live that perfect life ourselves. Only grace is enough to enable us to live like Jesus. I remember the day I had first written those words above. On that same day as I talked about grace enabling us to live the Jesus kind of life, my son told me of another wrong choice and my emotions took over. At first I didn't access that grace to speak kindly and to believe the best, but God reminded me of what I had just been writing,

12:01 the words and the work of grace in our lives. And his grace was once again more than enough. When have you seen God give more than enough grace to you in your wilderness journey with your prodigal? When have you given such grace to your prodigal? God bless you. Thank you for joining me today on the When You Love a Prodigal Podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. Your review helps the show reach more people with the hope and encouragement of Jesus. Don't forget, take a look at the show notes and for more helpful information, resources and books, check out JudyDouglass.com. That's Douglass with two S's. You can find me on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram at JudyDouglass417. Until next week.