The Elder Son’s Inheritance

“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’” –Luke 15:25,28-32

The prodigal son is a picture of the person who has broken fellowship with God, but what about the elder son? He was upset. He’d stayed home with the father and worked in the fields while his younger brother had wasted his inheritance through riotous living. Now his brother had returned home, and his father had gone out of his way to prove his love for his younger son, clothing him with luxurious clothes and killing the fatted calf for a celebration feast in his honor. (vv. 22,23.)

Sometimes Christians feel like the elder son. They see God miraculously heal a backslider who doesn’t have an ounce of faith. This proves to the backslider that believers get upset and say, “Why did God heal that person? I’ve never been backslidden, but He didn’t heal me.”

In essence, this is what the older son said. He had worked and been faithful, yet he’d never had a big celebration held in his honor. But the elder son could have whatever he desired at any time. His father told him, “Son, all I have belongs to you!” And your heavenly Father is saying the same thing to you.

CONFESSION:

Because I’m a child of God, everything my Father has is mine. Healing is mine. By faith, I accept my healing now!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999