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MILES J. STANFORD
The kodigals &uke 15:11-32)

If one were to set the parable of the prodigal to music, it would be in a minor key. I am ahrays
saddened by the principle of the prodigal. It is hrre that there is great gladness and merriment in it, but the setting is sadness.

Think of this loving and generous father, with two prodigal sons. The youn ger a whore-monger, and the elder a "me-monger." The younger unrighteous
and lawless, and the elder self-righteous and legal; both far, far from the loving father, with the latter set in his law-bound implacability. Does that not

make your heart sad?

If you are already sad because you are a poor

prodigal, or the parent of a prodigal or two, you can be sure that the Father of prodigals understands and cares. Yes, and in God the Son we have a High kiest who can be touehed with the feeling of our infirrrities, our burdens, our trials and heartaches (Heb. 4:15).

Actually, w can all relate to, and are related to the prodigals. The principle of prodigality is there for us all. When we were unsaved, by the grace of God we eame to realize that we welt in a far counbry, "having no hope, and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12).When no man gave unto us, we finally ceme to ourselves, and arose, and went to the Father. It was then that He came to meet us in fullness of love and acceptance. And there was great joy in heaven, in our heart, and in the Father's heart, over that one sinner that repented (Lu. 15:7).

rrntr yef,, rong aner we are saved, the principle of the prodigal rrcasserts itself in our lives. Assr:red

of our eternal security and acceptance in the Saviour, we slowly drift into self-confidence and
independence. We may be in some true of senrice for the [,ord, but sooner or later we find otrselves in the far counbry; out of fellowship with or:r Father, and shuggling to keep up appearances in our Christian life and setvice.

We may slave on in this far counbry for yeare, slowly learning that the husks of the world and the old mar are not even lit for swine. Finally, frnally, we can shrrggle no longer and we give up-at least for the time being. Then it is that we whimper, "Oh, wretchedmanthat I am!Who shall deliver me frrm the body of this death?" (Rom.
7:24).

It is then, by the Father's mercy, that we come to

ourselves once again. "I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lordu (Rom. 7:25). He is the answer, and back to the Father we go. In His eternal love, He meets us again, this time not with the hrth of

justification, but \rith the hrths of identifrcation. Having subsisted on a far-counba stanration diet for years, we hungnly feed upon the succulent identification hrths. In due time we are fattened up on the liberating faet that we died turto sin, and that our life is now "hid with Christ in God"
(Col. 3:3).

As a rresult, Galatians 2:N becomes our "life verse": "I have been atrcilied with Christ: and it is no longer I that live, but Chdst liveth in me."
And we begin to reckon, reckon, reckon: 'r[ ,ikewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God in Jesus Christ, our Lord"

(Rom.6:11).

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'deeper life" books. And we share, share, share, the deeper hrths--whether the recipient (victin?) is ready or not! We are learning about our position in Chdst above, and we are impnoving in our condition. Our heart-hungers are being satisfied by more and more fieedom frtm the old man, and motre and more freedom in the new Man--Christ, who is our [ife. Liberation, at last!
Now, it is not quite that pat. It is freedom at first!

In this way our Lord gives us a taste of His

ultimate triumph in our lives, and assulnes us that we are on the right path to that maturity in the Lord Jesus--"dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God in Jesus Christ, our Lord."

Hence, reckon as we Day, our wonderful victorious life and testimony brgm to fade. And there is our principle of the prtdigal, sfung as ever. Onee agnin, it is the far counhry--maybe not quite as far as before, but too far for fellowship rrith the lnrd Jesus and the Father.
Could that be where you ane, right now?

lYell, yes, kind of. But I would like to Lnow why.

You will be encouraged to kcrow that there are a number of reasons, md all of them are good (Rom. 8:?3,29).

Filst, your loving Father has you right where He wants you, at this time. He is not allowing you to gab the identification htths, mn off with them and reckon upon them. He rather intends for you
to become established, clearly and solidly, in those two basic growth truths--that you died unto sin, and are noyv alive trnto Him in Christ Jesus. A

little farther on in this material we will

see

whether or not you are established enough in

uutruE t r-uLus Lu enaole you EO fecglve theff practical benefrts consistently and inaeasingly.
S

econd, while reckoning will result in defurite gain

in your Christian life, that is not God's primary purpose for it. That is pr.odigal thinking. The young prodigal reckoned upon his fathels faithfulness, and was willing to settle for bread and seryanthood. At least that would free him foom the pig sty, and give him some of the
comforts and benefits of family life.

But the father would never settle for that. He frtted him for fellowship, and took him into his plresence in complete acceptance. And that is the
Father's purpose for you. He has freed you from the old and positioned you in the new, that He may enjoy fellowship with you. Ard if there is to be sendce, it will be as a son, not as a ser:vant or hircd hand. "Thou art no mor? a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ" (Gal. 4:7).

Third, your Father does not want you to be like the elder prodigal. He served his father faitMully and kept his commandments, dl to establish his

own

self-righteous'ness.

His father humbled

himself and went out into his angry presence, while he refused to go into his father's loving presence. If your Father wene to grve you fuedom and make you frrridul through your present state of reckoning, you would be just another elder prodigal. You would expect Him to come to you and bless you and use you, and you would see no rtason for rrcsponding to His pleas for you to come inside and abide in His glorious presence.
Fourth, while you reckoned by faith for your new birth, you do not reekon for your growth. f,sgftening is the basis for growth, but it is not the means of growth. Reckoning yourself dead unto

sie does not firee you foom the reign of sin and the man--the Closs has already sixful aecomplished that. And reckoning yourself alive r:nto God in Christ Jesus does not establish you in yolrr position in the Lord Jesus above"the Holy Spirit has already done that, too.

old

It is tme that the Father has made you the object

thereby foeed you foom the old sinfirl Adam-life, and placed you in the life of His perfect Son at His own right hand. Now it is for you to count upon t}ese futths so that He can be your Object.
of His eternal love. He has saved you, and

The Lord Jesus gave Himself on the Cboss in ord.er to save you, but His object in doing so was that His Father misht be glorified. "I have glorifi.ed Thee on the ear[h; I have furished the work which Thou gavest Me to do" (John 1l:4). Now the Father is in the process of turning you mur yor::self as an object, to Himself as the Cbject. AJl ihings are of God, who hath rrcconciled lis to }limseH' (2 Cor. 5:18).
The Hol1- Spirit's Object is God the Son, and He indx-ells you in order to make Him your Object, also. The Lord Jesus said of the Spirit, "He shall glorify Me; for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you" (John 16:14). It is easy to tell when you are not walking in the Spirit, but in the flesh, because then you are an object to yourself, and you seek to make yourself the objeet of both God and man. But when you are walking in the Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ is yor.rr one blessed
Object. Hence it is by the Spirit that you grow. He centers yorrr attention and affections upon the Lord Jesus in glory (Col.3:1-3), and you zrle thereby changed into the same image, frrcm glory to glory, even es

hv thp Snirit of the Invrl 0, Cor. 3:18). Yottr

necKorung upon youl lreeoom. Irom f,ne olo man, and your position in the l.ord Jesus, comprises the basis for your aceess for face-to-face fellowship with FIim in glory, and that by the minishry of the

Holy Spirit.
That is how you make the Father your Object, and ther.eby glorify Him--in the Son, and by the Spirit. The Father has you in His presence that you might partake of His glory, and by that means grow in His image. "For God, who corunanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shone in our hearts, to give the light of the Lnowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor.
4:6).

Surely you cannotreckon yourself to be unworthy, as the younger prodigal, nor too worthy, as the elder prodigal. Rather, reckon yourself in glory for the Father's glory. "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son, Jesus

Christ our Lord"(l Cor. 1:9).

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