The Sin of the Elder Son

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 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 15:25-31 NIV)

In Rembrandt's painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son” there are three main characters: the younger (so-called prodigal) son, the elder son, and the father. Most of us find it easy to identify ourselves with the younger son because most of us sense that we are screw-ups, and that is what the younger son is. We work hard to try to make a go of it on our own steam and in the end we are defeated and come (back) to God.

It is harder to identify with the elder son. That's because the elder son's sin is of an entirely different nature. Rather that a sin of excess, this sin is one of pride. The elder son plays by the rules. He experiences a little arrogance when considering his younger brother's actions because he has avoided the temptation to succumb to the temptations of excess. He has worked hard, expecting that he would win the approval of his father, who in his turn cannot help but feel hurt by the actions of his younger son.

So when the younger son returns and the father welcomes him back, not with a rebuke but with open loving arms, restoring him to full inheritance and celebrating the return with a great feast, the elder son is resentful. He feels hurt that his years of quiet service have in an instant been swept aside in favor of a lavish homecoming celebration for his screw-up brother. Can you blame him?

Yet this is the nature of the father's love. His love for the younger son does not affect the beloved-ness of the elder. The father's love is infinite, and his inheritance is infinite. I have experienced the excess of the younger son and felt the power in the father's forgiveness and love. I have also felt the pride of the elder. It is here that I need to claim my beloved-ness.