Which of the "Two Sons" Am I?

10/2020    Raul (see HERE)

I went out to the park to initiate a gospel conversation and met Raul, about 70, and a catholic who’d had a very positive opinion toward my own non-denominational church. He had visited only a couple times but described what a positive effect it has had for his son and daughter-in-law who attend regularly, and he seemed impressed while remaining true to his Roman-Catholic traditions. Raul seemed to have been out at the park that day for some self-reflective time. He’d just had a difficult conversation with a tenant who was going through some major health problems and struggling with severe depression. He’d also recently heard the Bible passage at his church where Jesus had told the self-righteous Pharisees “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.” With this story, Jesus described how the clearly unreligious were repenting and coming to God, while those who were generally respected for being religious were really rejecting God in their lives. It seems to me Raul needs to decide where he fits into the story. Is he one of the sinners on the outside but being welcomed in, or one of the religious on the inside being turned out? I think this is a question we all need to ask. Jesus statement about the “sinners” to the Pharisees followed a short parable about a father and his two sons. The father went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard. “‘I will not,’ his first son answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. The other son answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted?” (Matt. 21) So what about you, and I? Are we going to pretend to be faithful and obedient to God without actually following through, or are we willing to admit we have been rebellious and disobedient, yet now choose to follow through with the opportunity to repentant and follow God regardless?

This conversation can be seen HERE at https://youtu.be/QggOvk_loNQ