No Coincidences

Tag: parable

  • Maybe (The Story of the Chinese Farmer)

    Maybe (The Story of the Chinese Farmer)

    “There once was a farmer whose horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. ‘Such bad fortune,’ they said, full of sympathy.

    “‘Maybe,’ the farmer replied.

    “The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. ‘What great fortune!’ The neighbors exclaimed.

    “‘Maybe,’ replied the old man.

    “The following day, the farmer’s son tried to ride one of the untamed horses. He was thrown off and broke his leg. The son would forever limp. ‘What terrible fortune!’ The neighbors cried.

    “‘Maybe,’ answered the farmer.

    “The next morning the army came through the farmer’s village to draft young able-bodied men for the war. Seeing his son’s limp, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer. ‘What wonderful fortune!’ They said.

    “‘Maybe,’ said the farmer.”

    So, it’s hard to know which experiences will turn out to be fortuitous and which will be unfortunate.

    Another story to consider.

    A dog is at the vet. It is there with its wonderful owner. The dog knows his owner loves him very much. The dog’s owner provides food and shelter to him every day. His owner takes him for walks every day and loves him so much. His owner would never do anything to harm him.

    At the vet, the dog is due to get shots.

    The owner knows the importance of these shots. The owner knows the dog needs the shots to keep him healthy. The owner knows the shots are for her dog’s ultimate benefit.

    While the dog is getting shots, all he can think is, “why oh why is my owner letting them do this to me? It hurts so bad! Why is she letting this happen?” The dog looks at his owner and cries and cries. He’s in so much pain. “Why is she standing there ignoring my pain? Why isn’t she doing anything? Doesn’t she love me?”

    The gap between the dog’s understanding and his owner’s understanding is vast. If the owner tried to explain to her dog germ theory and why he needed his shots, he wouldn’t understand any of it.

    The gap between God and us must be infinitely more expansive than the gap between our understanding and that of our pets.

    We don’t know completely why bad things happen to good people. We don’t know why some live while some die.

    The restored gospel of Jesus Christ tells us some key information. This information doesn’t completely answer the question of why bad things happen to good people, but it does add important information.

    We all chose to come here.

    We all knew it would be hard.

    Some knew they would experience unimaginable pain.

    We all chose to come here.

    The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that no pain, no hardship, no difficulty, no tragedy, is without meaning or purpose. It’s all for one great design: to make us better and stronger. Even as I say that, “to make us better and stronger” those words fall flat. Someone experiencing immense pain doesn’t care that they’ll be stronger in the end. Saying “to make us better and stronger” is akin to telling the dog, it’s going to be ok. Our understanding is limited. That doesn’t take away from the fact that everything that happens here is meant for our ultimate good. Everything here is to help us to reach our full potential.

    Do you think that dog understands those shots will help him live longer? Could we possibly understand if God tried to explain to us the mysteries of the universe and how that unimaginable pain can be for our benefit?

    Does this make unimaginable pain easier to endure? I think it does. I’m not in the throes of pain at the moment, though.

    When I thought I might die, and I thought how desperately I would miss my wife and my one month old daughter, when I thought about how I wouldn’t get to teach her to talk, shoot a basketball, or ride a bike, my heart hurt. But then I knew something amazing. I knew that, even if I had to leave my daughter and my wife, I’d see them again. Life is one eternal round with God and nothing would be lost. I knew that if I had to leave, it was for my ultimate benefit, and the benefit of my family. I had to trust God in that moment. That brought me peace.

    Could the farmer’s son have realized that breaking his leg and being limp for the rest of his life would actually save his life? He couldn’t know it. But someone did.

    When bad things happen, take comfort. Trust Him.

    How do we know what is a blessing and what isn’t? We don’t. Someone does. Trust Him.

  • Prodigal Son

    Prodigal Son

    The story of the Prodigal Son is well known.  For those who have not read it before or haven’t read it recently it can be found in Luke 15:11-32.

    The story of the Prodigal Son has always hit close to home for me.  Obviously, it’s easy for me to relate to the younger son.  You should read Luke chapter 15 above but a quick summary: there were two sons.  They will be referred to as the elder/older son and the younger son as I write.  The two sons were given their inheritances.  The younger son left his home and went to a faraway city.  There he squandered his inheritance on “riotous living.”  When he hit the lowest of lows, the younger son returned home to beg his father to allow him to be a servant.  The father, instead of showing anger, welcomed his son home, killed the fatted calf, put a robe on his son, gave him a ring, put shoes on his feet, and threw a huge party in celebration of his return.

    The older son, upon hearing of his brother’s return and the subsequent party, was angry.

    This story is often told in such a way that the primary lesson is about the Prodigal Son and his father’s reaction to his return. The story is called “the prodigal son” after all.  That lesson being that no matter how we stray, how far gone are, and how many mistakes we make our Heavenly Father (the father in the story) will always welcome us back.  In fact, Heavenly Father rejoices at our repentance:

    “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

    Luke 15:7

    All Prodigal Sons like myself rejoice at this story.

    I once heard a different perspective on this story, and I’d like to share it.  There is a great lesson to be learned in the story of the Prodigal Son by looking at a secondary character: the older brother.

    A great question to ask yourself before reading any of Christ’s parables is “who was He speaking to?”  Another good question is “What was He trying to teach?”  If you look at the parable from the perspective of the Prodigal Son, you can say Christ was teaching those who have sinned that they can always repent and return to the light of their Heavenly Father’s love.

    Who was Christ speaking to when he gave this parable? He was speaking to those looking for the message of God.   He was speaking to the listeners.  These were the ones looking for the message of God.  When giving this parable Christ was speaking to the saints.

    Consider what can be learned from the older brother.  The older brother never left.  The older brother never sinned.  The older brother respected and worked for his father.  Many say, and I always thought, he was justified in his reaction.  His exact words in verses 29 and 30:

    “And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid (fatted calf), that I might make merry with my friends:

    But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.”

    This appears to be a natural reaction.  He had always been there.  He had always done right.  Only for his corrupt brother to return and receive honor.

    Why did the older son stay and work hard for his father?  Why did he keep his commandments?  Was he simply looking forward to the inheritance he was to receive?

    A Crucial Lesson from the Brother of the Prodigal Son « Meridian Magazine

    Why do you serve God and keep his commandments?  Are you looking forward to your mansion?  Do you serve God so you can inherit His glory?  Are you serving Him for YOUR benefit?

    We should serve God because we love God.  We should serve God because we love those around us.  Our service to God shouldn’t be for the blessings and honors He can give us.  Our hearts should serve for love and not for our inheritances.

    Jesus didn’t tell this story only to get sinners to repent.  He also told this story to get the saints to repent.  The Prodigal Son went out to experience life and disregarded his father’s possessions.  The older son on the other hand stuck around, but he was working to please his father.  He looked at himself as moral and worthy.  He was after his father’s possessions.  That’s what he concerned himself with.  The elder son was keeping score.  He was trying to earn his father’s love and inheritance.

    Sometimes we are like the Prodigal Son: sinning and needing to return home.  Sometimes we are like the older brother: serving for the glory of the world. 

    Often we are like the older son in our envy and jealousy.  When someone returns to the fold do we judge them for their past?  Or, like the father in the parable and our Heavenly Father, do we rejoice at someone’s return?

    Elder Holland in his talk, The Other Prodigal, said:

    “I testify that no one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another.  I testify that He loves each of us-insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all.  He doesn’t measure our talents or our looks; He doesn’t measure our profession or our possessions.  He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other.  I know that if we will be faithful, there is a perfectly tailored robe of righteousness ready and waiting for everyone, “robes…made…white in the blood of the Lamb.”  May we encourage each other in our effort to win that prize is my earnest prayer.”

    Let us not compare our blessings to the blessings of others, what we have to the possessions of others.  Let us support and help each other to all return to our Heavenly Father.  Jealousy is of Satan.  We should never look down on somebody who made mistakes and is trying to return to God, because then we are the sinner.  We can learn from every character in Christ’s great parable.  Be like the Prodigal Son and repent, humble ourselves, and return home.  Be like the elder son and don’t envy but welcome our wayward brothers and sisters back home with joy and love.  And be like the father, loving all those around us, embracing the sinner and the saint alike.  I believe this is God’s hope for us and what Christ was teaching us through this story.

    __________________________

    Here is a link to Jeffery R. Holland’s talk, The Other Prodigal:

    https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2002/04/the-other-prodigal?lang=eng