The elder brother's error was nothing else but Religion. He was upgrading himself; outlining all he had been doing for his father, expecting a reward. He wasn't doing all that because he loved his father but he was expecting a gift. In that case, he was doing all that as a servant, rather than a SON. A servant work for wages but how is it with a son? He works each day, doing all he can because he loves his father. A servant mayn't recognize the love his master has for him but a son first see that love, then begin to love his father more and more. Walking with Jesus in this relationship is that way! Playing the religious game with him is just too harmful for us. Yet, he's right beside us, feeling our pain and freeing us from it. Some of us have …show more content…
In that case, we aren't different from the elder son as we look for every means to use as a tool to getting something from him. We work for God, not because we believe that if we do so, he will supply all our needs, but we do his will because we love him. Religion omits the desire to love God and others more than ourselves. It blinds us from recognizing his unchangeable love toward us. Just like the elder son, our view of God become blackened with untrue descriptions of who God is and how he works in our lives. We won't be able to see beyond our activities; our selfish priorities into the glorious and compassionate heart of God. Religion doesn't distinguish us from self-righteousness. It opens our heart to become self-righteous (righteous in our own eyes), not minding the way Father sees us, even if we are that good or bad. However, as far as we're concerned, none of us is good. We're not just qualified to be robed with the cloak of righteousness because there's always a level of imperfection in each of us. However, when Christ died, he became our righteousness. Thus, in following Jesus in this relationship a day at a time, he begins to humble us and help us live away from the strings