The Gospel yesterday was about the Prodigal Son. During the sermon, the priest asked two very important questions:
- Was the younger son sincere in coming home to his father?
- Was the older son sincere in serving his father all those years?
The answer to both questions, according to the priest is – NO. Both have other intentions other than sincerely loving their father. Both wanted something else. For the younger son, he realized it was the practical thing to do, to go back to his father rather than suffer starvation. For the older son, his unhappiness about serving his father all those years proved his lack of a full and satisfying relationship with him. He tried to do what was right, but his motivations for doing it seem not to include a genuine love and gratitude to his father.
I wondered how many Chritians today are actually doing the right thing for the right reasons. Do we truly believe in the love of God? Or are we merely looking for rewards? Are we truly in a contrite spirit for offending the One who has loved us unconditionally? Or are we merely afraid of the gory fires of hell?
The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
"Where Hope Can Be Found"