September 2024 Monthly Letter

Dear Reconcilers,

This month’s guest contributor is ORM Chapter Leader and YouTube video presenter Tom Pickett. We hope you enjoy reading Tom’s commentary on this beloved parable. 

The Unexplainable Things in Life: The Prodigal Son and His Older Brother

When we have worked hard and have been diligent, we expect a good result, and that includes reconciliation with the people we share close relationships with. 

Let’s consider the parable of the “prodigal son” in Luke 15:11-24. This was the son the father worried about. He was the youngest son who selfishly demanded his share of the family inheritance before his father’s death.  

His father loved him so he relented and gave him his share of the family inheritance. 

How does our Father love us? He sent Jesus to show us how much. (Matthew 11:25-30; John 13:34-35; John 15:1-17; Luke 15:25-32) 

The older son was solid and kept on doing his part on the family farm, taking care of the sheep and lambs.  But how did this turn out? The younger son finally returns home and is received as the father’s son. A spontaneous party is thrown and everyone is happy, except for the older son, who was not a problem until now. 

Now everything shifts. The younger son happily accepts his place in the family but now the older son complains how the father is treating him. 

So what remains the constant response in all of this commotion? The father’s love. Our Father’s love for us is consistent as well. Thankfully, we all have received the everlasting love of becoming His children through the sacrifice of our Father’s Son, Jesus. 

Let’s proclaim and witness this wonderful truth with others who need to know the answer to the unexplainable things in this life: Be reconciled to God! (2 Corinthians 5:20)

What compels us today? Our Father’s love! (2 Corinthians 5:14-21)

Tom Pickett shares messages of Hope and Reconciliation in his video program called “A Time to Reconcile” on World Trumpet TV. You can watch “A Time to Reconcile” on Roku, DIRECTV^®, Apple, Amazon, and Firestick, or go to www.worldtrumpettv.com/ on your computer and then click “On DEMAND.”