This follows on the heels of part 1.

The Jesus Creed

When Jesus was asked, “What is the bottom line, what is it that God really wants from us?” (Mark 12:28), he replied with an ancient Jewish creed that the people of God had learned from Moses many centuries before. Called the Shema, this creed had become the standard prayer of first-century Israelites throughout the Near East. “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” In these words we discover the core of our new identity. In Christ, we have become members of the New Testament (NT) Israel, Israel renewed by the Spirit, the revitalized people of God. We also found that the Lord (Yhwh), the name of God that draws attention to his role as the promise-keeping Liberating Adopter, is not only the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, but he also has become our God. Here then is our identity, derived from two inter-dependent connections: we are connected to the people of God, as one family with the faithful throughout all history, and we are connected to the God of the people. He is our God because he claimed us as his people. ‘Who we are’ is determined by ‘whose we are.’ It is God’s relationship with us that makes all the difference. Like Beauty and the Beast, it was only by virtue of Beauty’s relationship with the Beast that he found the transformation of identity he needed.

Identity shapes Vocation

Jesus answered, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these” (Mark 12:29). Note that in the Jesus Creed our Lord prefaces the most important commandment with an assertion of our identity in relation to the one and only God. “Hey Israel, check this out! The Lord has chosen us, of all people, to be his very own!” Only with this securely established does Jesus proceed to spell out our vocation (in a nutshell, of course!).  

Like Moses and Jesus before him, Paul also grounds his appeals for fitting Christian behavior on the basis of Spirit-wrought identity. Prior to summoning his brothers and sisters to God-pleasing conduct, Paul affirmed their new identity in Christ. “It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin…but God, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ…In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do…to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel (Eph 2:1-6; 4:1-2). We are to follow the road God has called us to [vocation] “in light of” all that God has done for us [privileged identity]. We see again and again in Paul that our new identity in Christ is the fountainhead out of which springs our response in character and conduct. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ [who we are], set your hearts on things above [our response to God]…Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved [wonderful identity], clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience [our Christ-like loving behavior]” (Col 3:1,12). Peter, likewise, roots our calling and responsibilities in our unrivalled privileges of identity: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9; cf. Exodus 19:4-6). We are chosen for a task. We are God’s priests who are to demonstrate his ways to the world. We are the ones in the light, called to share the light of grace and truth with those still in the darkness. We, the recipients of divine blessing, are to be his agents of blessing. This is how we “declare his praises.” It is ‘whose we are’ that shapes ‘why we are’ and determines what we are to do. One of Jesus’ penetrating parables gives tangible illustration to this connection between ‘who we are’ and ‘how we behave,’ between identity and vocation.

The Parable of the Prodigal Father

The title traditionally ascribed to this parable in Luke 15 is The Prodigal Son. But the father is the central figure of the story, which is told to demonstrate how he graciously interacts with two wayward sons. Jesus tells this parable to illustrate how his activity of reconstituting Israel around himself affects two distinct groups, each represented by one of the sons. The younger son represents those who have sinned by flagrantly breaking the rules, but find that rule-breaking is not all it’s cracked up to be. The humble, repentant return to God by people like this is met with a warm embrace, an honored place in the family, and wild celebration. New identity comes, not in rule-keeping, but by attaching one’s self to Jesus. The older son represents those who use their alleged rule-keeping to justify their sin of lovelessness against their brothers. Their disdain of Jesus’ agenda of ‘restoring sinners’ jeopardizes their place in the family. Nevertheless, the forgiving father invites them also to join in the party. With both sons, and the groups they represent, it is the father’s heart of generosity that forms the story’s centerpiece. This suggests that a more encompassing title might be The Parable of the Prodigal Father. How is it that the father is prodigal? The answer is found in the word ‘prodigal,’ the dictionary definition of which is broad enough to accommodate both younger son and father. (1) The term can mean the rash, reckless squandering of one who is extravagantly wasteful—a good description of the younger son in his days of autonomy; (2) but it also can mean the extreme generosity of one who is scandalously gracious—a fitting portrayal of the father in his response to both sons. Let’s review the main scenes of this story. Here you’ll need an open Bible so you can read the verses in each scene.

Luke 15:11-13. The prodigal son severs precious ties with father and family in reckless pursuit of autonomy (that is, self-rule). (Can you hear the echoes of the rebellion of Adam and Eve against God? And of Absalom against his father David? There is much for us here to learn about the deception of temptations that lure us to step out from under the Lord’s wise rule.)

Luke 15:14-16. The mess of a misdirected life. Though he thought self-rule was bound to be more satisfying that the ‘burdens’ of family life, the foolish son fortunately discovers that the pleasures of life away from home are transient and destructive. (If only we had the wisdom to see through the lies of temptation to its true nature and its ill effects.)

Luke 15: 17-20a. In “coming to his senses,” the younger son experiences the grace of enlightenment, an integral part of God’s wonderful work in drawing prodigals back into the family. Not all are so lucky to have their fall into the pig-pen awaken a yearning to place themselves under the Father’s gracious authority. The prodigal felt unworthy (which of us doesn’t?), yet set out for home. “I’d rather be a part of father’s family than out on my own.” These verses provide a tangible portrayal of ‘repentance,’ the about-face that involves a radical change in priorities and direction. (No wonder the Bible calls repentance ‘a gift from the Lord,’ [Acts 5:31; 2 Tim 2:25] and a mind-set necessary for a continuing relationship with God.)

The prodigal father doesn’t give up on the cocky older brother, calling him “son” and speaking of the younger son as “this brother of yours.” But how does the older brother react? Does he exercise the repentance he needs to stay in the family?  Does he embrace the restored one as his own brother? Does he join in the celebration? Does he adopt the ‘family business’ as his own? Jesus spoke this story to “the Pharisees and religion scholars” who were not pleased with Jesus’ scandalous behavior in accepting disreputable people as his “old friends” (vv. 1-2). How would the Pharisees respond? The invitation to ‘join in’ is issued to the older brother, but his reaction is never stated. The closing scene of the parable is left open in order to allow for Jesus’ critics to write themselves into the story however they wish. Likewise for readers of the parable today. If our alleged rule-keeping has been an excuse to justify our sin of lovelessness against those God loves, then Jesus here is addressing us: “This is what my agenda for the world is all about. Will you love the unlovely as I do? Will you assume an active role in the ‘family business’?

This parable of the Prodigal Father is highly relevant to us. In pursuing life independent of God we had become Beasts. Grace helps us perceive the tragedy of our condition away from the Father. Humbly, we come home, to find, not a harsh rebuke, but a warm embrace and royal treatment, altogether undeserved. Beauty welcomes Beast, and in so doing, transforms him. How then should the former Beast respond to other Beasts he meets? With judgment and scorn? Or with patience and kindness, while prayerfully waiting for them to experience the same renewal? Former Beasts who have been ‘beautified’ are recognized by their eagerness to welcome other Beasts to the table, in hopes that they too might connect with Beauty, that is, with the Prodigal Father, and in that connection with Father and his family, experience a new identity and a fresh vocation.

The truths of the Jesus Creed are interwoven in this parable. The once-autonomous and now-repentant younger brother has been fully incorporated as a full-fledged son in the gracious Father’s family. This adoption creates his new identity: “Hear renewed Israel! The Lord is our God!” Then, the now-restored son gladly pledges his loving loyalty, his wholehearted devotion to his ever-so-amazing father. This is the first part of our new vocation in Christ: “You must love the Lord with all you’ve got.” How natural for the restored son to participate in the ‘family business’ of inviting other wayward children to the family table. This is the second part of our new calling: “And you will love your neighbor as yourself.” It is no surprise that the Jesus Creed, our Lord’s version of Life in a Nutshell, finds expression in this parable which describes the heart of his ministry. The Lord who preaches the Jesus Creed also practices it. Accordiingly, he blazed a trail for us to follow, a trail that starts with being adopted and adored, then issues in loving loyalty to God, which finds its best expression in loving service to others.

My Adoption Story

Adoption can have powerful effects. As a young adult, I was plagued with insecurity—lonely, disconnected, self-preoccupied, and crippled with exclusively self-serving goals. My reception by the Father began the miraculous process of transformation. But things accelerated greatly by my inclusion within the community of faith, particularly by my in-laws. They welcomed me, warts and all, into their delightful family. Despite my many shortcomings, I was adopted as one of their own…like Beauty embracing Beast. Within the context of this wise and loving Christian community, I have continued to learn more constructive ways of relating, to discover healthier patterns of living, and to embody more of the Jesus Creed. It is by being adopted by God and his people that we begin to bear more of the ‘family likeness’ and to participate more fully in the ‘family business’ of caring for others.

Loving God

This is the heart of our new calling in Christ, the essence of how we, as adopted children, are to respond to grace. We are to “love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength.” These four expanding qualifiers add up to mean that we are to love God with ‘all we are and all we have.’ God’s wholehearted and self-giving love for us is to be met with our wholehearted and self-giving love for him. And doesn’t that make sense? Would anything less be a fitting response to what the Lord of Might and Mercy has accomplished in embracing us Beasts and transforming us into his precious daughters and sons? The word ‘love’ in today’s Western culture has so many varied meanings that it may no longer be the best word to communicate what Jesus means. Think about it. We love Jelly Bellies. We love the Kings. We love good music. We love backrubs. We love fancy cars. We love puppies. And we love God. But shouldn’t our love for God mean something far greater than these other kinds of love?

What does it mean to ‘love God’? Jesus adopted his Creed from the Shema, which was comprised, in part, from Moses’ words to our ancestors on the edge of entering the Promised Land. Let’s see how the immediate literary context sheds some light on the meaning of love. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today” (Deut 6:4-5). Here love is synonymous with loyalty. So, to love God is to give him our loving loyalty. ‘Love’ when it relates to the Father in heaven is nothing other than ‘devoted obedience.’ And one of the sure-fire expressions of loyal devotion is attending to the Lord’s wise instructions on how to live. Listen to the Lord’s own way of describing what it means to love him. “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you.” In other words, “keep my commandments” (John 14:15). For us to obey the Lord’s words, we first have to be familiar with them, and we have to understand them and how they might integrate into our lives. None of this is possible without three indispensable resources: our open Bibles (through which God speaks), the Holy Spirit (whereby God sheds light on the Bible, our hearts, and our circumstances), and the Christian community (in which we find teachers to help us ‘get it’ and friends to help us ‘do it’). Like so many things in the Christian life, “keeping his commandments” is best undertaken with Scripture in one hand, the Christian community in the other, and the Spirit of God opening our eyes and guiding our steps. Praise God for giving us everything we need in order to love him with ‘all we are and all we have.’

Pleasing God

What does ‘loving loyalty’ look like? What are the contours of ‘wholehearted devotion’? In addition to obedience, Scripture provides several other descriptors. Those who love God with everything they’ve got are known by their dependency (they trust the Lord); respect (they fear the Lord); participation (they follow the Lord); patience (they wait on the Lord); and affection (they delight in the Lord). Jesus, as the world’s most human of beings, provides us a palpable example. He uses a word to describe his love for the Father that captures his vocation, his reason for living (and for dying, for that matter). Here we can feel the pulse that motivated his ministry. What did Jesus seek above all else? His Father’s pleasure. “I seek not to please myself but him who sent me” (John 5:30). This is what it means to be lovingly loyal to God. As one who sought to walk in his Master’s footsteps, Paul adopted the same agenda. This too was his governing aim. “So we make it our goal to please him” (2 Cor 5:9). “Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more” (1 Thess 4:1). “We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way” (Col 1:10). John too describes love for God in terms of obedience and seeking God’s pleasure: Christians are recognizable as those who “keep his commandments and do what pleases him” (1 John 3:22).

Love Your Neighbor

As we saw in the parable of the Prodigal Father, those who have been adopted and adored are expected to participate in the ‘family business’ of extending love and concern to others. That means that we are to embrace and assist the Father’s other children (even the disagreeable ones!). John makes this point unmistakably plain, “If you don’t tangibly serve the brethren, don’t assume that you’re part of God’s family” (summarizing 1 John 3:14-18; 4:20-21). Our loving service is to extend also to outsiders and to anyone in need. ‘Love of others’ should be the response of those ‘loved by God.’ “We love others because God loved us” (1 John 4:19). This is the rationale for our love of neighbor—the loved are to love, the served are to serve, the blessed are to bless. How could it be otherwise? The best evidence of ‘love flowing in’ is seen when ‘love is flowing out.’ This is the fitting response of the adored. The one who has been given much, gives much. The one who has been embraced, embraces. The one who has been forgiven, forgives (cf. Matt 6:15, illustrated by 18:21-35). The one who has been helped, helps. The one who is being transformed, helps in the transformation of others. (The friends I know who have been liberated from their captivity to the addiction of alcoholism through the transformative ministry of AA often become enthusiastic participants in liberating others.) As Jesus himself said, “You have been treated generously, so live generously” (Matt 10:8).

You Excel in Love

One way to think of our dual vocation of ‘pleasing God’ and ‘serving others’ is to link them in this way: pleasing God is serving others. This is the most fundamental of our duties, the heart of our response to God, the essence of what it means to live as a follower of Christ. This is Life in a Nutshell. To love another is to pursue their welfare, to seek their best interests. But in a group like this, I have as much reason to applaud the loving service you demonstrate for each other as I have to remind you that this indeed is the very thing to which we are called. Paul felt the same way about his friends in Thessalonica. “Every time we think of you, we thank God for you. Day and night you’re in our prayers as we call to mind your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope in following our Master, Jesus Christ, before God our Father. It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special” (1 Thess 1:2-4).  Paul prays that Jesus will dispense even more overflowing love. “May the Lord Jesus pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you” (1 Thess 3:12). So what can I say? Just this—excel even more! “I don't need to write to you about the Christian love that should be shown among God’s people. For God himself has taught you to love one another. Indeed, your love is already strong toward all the Christians in all of Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we beg you to love them more and more” (1 Thess 4:9-10).

Life in a Nutshell

When asked what was the most important of commands, Jesus responded by affirming our identity—who we are and whose we are, connecting us to the people of God and the God of the people. He then spelled out the essence of what God would have us do. We are to give our all to God in loving devotion and glad obedience. And hand-in-hand with pleasing God we are to serve others. We are to share freely what we have freely received. Let’s remind ourselves and each other whose we are: Adopted, adored, precious, clothed in the Lord’s robes, cleansed, renewed, and fit for service. Then let’s encourage one other to respond accordingly: Give God the loving loyalty he deserves and join in the family way of welcoming outsiders into the fold and treating all with kindness and dignity, serving others as God has served us. This dual response is instructively explored in a book I recommend called The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others (Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2004) by Scot McKnight, PhD. The author is a reputable NT scholar from whom I have learned much. He is a professor at North Park Theological Seminary and also serves as a teacher at Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois. This user-friendly book is immensely practical and undergirded by sound scholarship, not to mention that it was awarded Christianity Today’s 2005 Book of the Year for Christian Living.

Our Prayer