Cause for Celebration

“It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:32). Following both World Wars our nation celebrated! We did not necessarily celebrate the battles won, but the return of those brave men and women who went off to foreign lands to defend our freedoms! Tragically, not too many years later, following the Vietnam War, few celebrated the return of our brave soldiers. Many protested and seemingly despised those who had returned. Such was the attitude of the Pharisees toward publicans and sinners and those found in such despicable company. They had little to no concern for anyone but themselves, especially as it related to the Gentiles. Jesus depicts this unloving and self-centered attitude in His parable of the lost son (cf. Luke 15:1ff). Following his brother’s return, a cause for celebration, he refused to rejoice….