You are always with me, and everything I have is yours
When reading the parable of the lost son, I am always grateful that the younger son returned to his father (Luke 15: 11-32). But sometimes can't help but feel sympathetic to the older son's point of view. The older son had not strayed, and yet no-one celebrated his faithfulness. When he pointed this out to his father when they were celebrating the return of his brother, the father said: “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” Luke 15: 31-32 The first words of the father resonated with me: "You are always with me, and everything I have is yours." Wow! That's God speaking to us! This made me feel so much less jealous of others. I realized that God values us equally, whether we stray or not. Sure, the younger brother had a big celebration made for the occasion of his return, but honestly...