“What you are must always displease you, if you would attain that which you are not.” – St Augustine

When Prodigo realizes how far he is from the way he is supposed to be and becomes poor in spirit, God rewards him with the gift of the kingdom. This gift establishes a new relationship with God, one where Prodigo willingly surrenders to the sovereign, righteous rule of God and begins a new life with Jesus, the King. But Prodigo has also become born-again and as in all new births there is a baby with which to deal with. Prodigo may be considered a mature adult in his worldly life but in his new kingdom life he is only a baby. Babies need lots of tender care, love, simplistic instruction and food in order to grow properly. Prodigo is now considered God’s child making God his Father in heaven as Jesus refers to Him when teaching us how to pray.

No one ever teaches a baby to love and cling to their parents. It is their natural response to never want to be away from them even for a short amount of time. When someone else holds the baby they will quickly want back into their parent’s arms. Here are four words that define every baby’s relationship with their parents: dependent, intimate, trusting and clingy. That is the proper response Prodigo should now have with his new Father in heaven. Unfortunately, Prodigo will find almost everything in his life pulling him away from his new Father. Prodigo’s transgressor/sinner life has left him helpless in regards to this new way of life. Look at what is said about this in Colossians 1:13.

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.”  

The Greek word translated domain means the power of choice, which is our freewill ability to make our own decisions in life. Our ability to choose was created by God and is a good thing. Because of the transgression our ability to make our own decisions in life is greatly flawed. We no longer have a righteous nephesh that instinctively chooses right. In fact, we often think we have chosen right when we have actually chosen wrong.

The Greek word translated darkness means, blind ignorance. Put these two concepts together and Prodigo has the ability to make his own choices but he is blind and ignorant. His ability to make perfect choices is hindered because he doesn’t see and know what is the right way he should respond to something. This is the way God says all us humans are before being transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son.

You can see why Prodigo needs to become poor in spirit for when he does he receives the amazing gift of the kingdom of God and the Holy Spirit to powerfully guide and teach him the way of righteousness. This is the crucial thing. With the sovereign, righteous rule governing and directing Prodigo’s life choices he can now see and know what is right. Without the Holy Spirit’s leading Prodigo is blindly ignorant.  

Because he sees himself as an adult in his normal life, Prodigo will have a tendency to view his new life with God in much the same way. But he needs to develop his new makarios life the same way as a baby develops; slow and with much loving care, bottle-fed then spoon fed, rolling over, crawling, walking and eventually running.

This is Prodigo’s new life but his response to his heavenly Father is greatly hindered by his own lack of experience and his natural inability to communicate with a Holy God. He just doesn’t know how to relate to a sovereign, righteous King.

For the majority of his life Prodigo did his own thing with no regard for what God thought. But God the Father is far more aware of this than Prodigo is and so the best way for him to respond now to God is be like a baby; surrender to God’s way of doing things, be dependent on God in every area of his life, cling to God just as a baby does to his parents, trust God completely and be intimate and honest in his relationship with his new heavenly Father.

Prodigo will try to hide behind masks of deceit as he grows because this has been his way all his life. He needs to learn to be completely honest with God even though God is so far above him in perfection and holiness.

Prodigo will never be met with criticism, condemnation or judgment. God wants him to be restored to the way he is supposed to be and God already has plenty of future teaching lessons designed for Prodigo’s life to help him grow. For now he is a baby and God will graciously respond to him as one. And remember, if Prodigo is declared righteous by God; then he is a completely righteous, newly born-again human being. Sin is no longer an obstacle deterring Prodigo’s relationship with his heavenly Father because it was completely dealt with when Jesus became sin and was punished for it.  

The more Prodigo becomes comfortable and trusting with this new relationship he has with his heavenly Father the happier his nephesh will become and the life of makarios will begin to be his new way of life.

God has provided Prodigo with everything he needs to live the makarios life. But this is a growing life, not a static one. It happens over time and through many struggles. Watching a baby take their first steps will be the same as watching Prodigo take his. There will be more falls than successes, but persistence and encouragement will pay great dividends. If a child is allowed to fail and helped up to try again, they always learn to walk and eventually run, skip and jump. If a child is not fed, not held, not loved and condemned for failing, they will not grow properly. So Prodigo must cling to his new heavenly Father and allow God to love him like he has never been loved before. There is no one in the whole world that would like to see Prodigo restored to the image of God more than Jesus. Remember, Jesus died to make this happen.

Why then would Jesus tell Prodigo, who is a bankrupt transgressor/sinner, to pursue righteousness with the same vigor and passion as someone who desperately needs food and water or they will die? This answer needs to be fully understood because the life of makarios depends on it. The state of declared righteousness God establishes with Prodigo so He can have an intimate relationship with him and allow Prodigo to enter the kingdom is not dependent on his continual pursuit of righteousness. But being filled to the top with righteousness while living now only comes to those who hunger and thirst for it.

The gospel of the kingdom is a good news message about how to be restored to the righteous way we were created to be and how to live the righteous life we were created to live. This is why Jesus tells Prodigo to hunger and thirst for righteousness with such intensity. Righteousness is not only the way God wants Prodigo to be declared to be, it is also what God will change Prodigo to be before he enters the new heaven and earth.   

“in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:52, 53)

“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” (1 John 2:2)

No ones nephesh while living on this earth will ever be 100% like Jesus. That will only happen when we are changed as it says in these verses. That is why we so desperately need to be declared righteous. For what is, declared by God, will always happen because God has the authority, power and right to make whatever He says happen.

So why does Jesus want to push Prodigo so hard to live righteously now? The answer is the heart and soul of our response to the gospel of the kingdom–Jesus loves Prodigo far too much to leave him functionally bankrupt in the way of righteousness. God wants to repair Prodigo so he can live the makarios life now because the makarios life is the righteous life God created Prodigo to live.

The intimate relationship God created Prodigo to have with Him is only possible when Prodigo is completely committed to this lifestyle. Because Prodigo is born-again and justified, intimacy with God is always available. But an intimate relationship can only occur when two hearts both desire the same thing. God cannot lower His standard of righteousness to accommodate Prodigo’s wayward heart. Prodigo must become righteous and therefore his heart will beat to the same drum as God’s. This is why the makarios life is so important.

Obviously the makarios life is way beyond the reach of Prodigo unless he has the Holy Spirit in his life to direct, guide and empower him to attain such a high standard of living. Look what God says He is willing to do to help Prodigo attain this.

“For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” (2 Chronicles 16:9a)

God wants Prodigo’s nephesh to become completely His. Not by force, but by Prodigos freewill choice. Hungering and thirsting for righteousness is the freewill choice Prodigo needs to make in order for God to fill Prodigo completely up with righteousness. Once again God has an amazing reward for Prodigo’s effort; God will strongly support him in his pursuit of righteousness. Prodigo needs to fully embrace this promise of God and believe it every moment of his life. God says He will strongly support Prodigo if his heart is completely His. God does not lie or twist the truth so Prodigo must believe God will do this with all his heart.  

The Bible and history are full of illustrations of God strongly supporting those who make what is important to God, important to them. That is the way we are supposed to be. Prodigo needs to understand this. God is not looking to strongly support Prodigo if he only wants to give God a few hours a day or week. Restoration to the righteous image of God means Prodigo is restored to be completely God’s. His thoughts, desires, passions, appetites, emotions and ability to reason are who Prodigo is. This would mean his thoughts would think the thoughts of God. His desires will want what God wants. His passions will stir for what God is passionate about. His appetites will seek after what is important to God. His emotions will love what God loves, hate what God hates, smile at what brings God joy, and cry over what hurts God. His opinions will coincide with God’s opinion on the subjects of life. This is what it means for Prodigo to be completely restored to the image of God and this is why Prodigo needs so desperately to be justified by God. Who can be this 100% of the time? No one can. So Prodigo will not either. But, if he really wants to hunger and thirst for righteousness with all his heart God will strongly support him even though Prodigo is going to fail.

What would Prodigo give to have God strongly support him? God only wants from Prodigo what He created him to be – to hunger and thirst after righteousness so strongly that he must have it or he will die. If Prodigo does this, his heart will be completely God’s.

Prodigo could not be in a better situation for his heavenly Father has the love, grace, kindness, patience, knowledge and power to overcome Prodigo’s worst issues and transform him from a transgressor/sinner into who he is supposed to be. Let’s look again at what Jesus says in Matthew 6:31-33.

“Do not worry then, saying ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33)  

There is nothing Jesus said for Prodigo to seek more than His kingdom and His righteousness. Nothing! What Jesus says here makes His kingdom and His righteousness more important than what Prodigo eats, drinks or wears. Practically speaking, if Prodigo doesn’t eat or drink he will die. No one would argue with that. Jesus even knows this better than we do and He is not speaking hyperbole here. Jesus actually means what He said.

Jesus spoke volumes concerning what Prodigo needs in his life with these few words. If Prodigo were to abstain from eating for thirty days everyone who saw him would know right away that something is drastically wrong with him. If Prodigo were to go several days without anything to drink, again, those who saw Prodigo would know he is terribly sick because he would not look healthy or normal.

On the other hand, if Prodigo is not hungering and thirsting after righteousness above everything else in his life he would simply go unnoticed by everyone, even those close to him. And why is that? Because Prodigo would be acting like everyone else around him does. But, if Jesus did not hunger and thirst for righteousness; if Jesus did not seek first the kingdom of God, everyone would think something is drastically wrong with Him, because Jesus would not be acting like the image of God. Instead, He would be acting like us.

If Prodigo hungers and thirsts for righteousness, Jesus said he will be filled up to overflowing with righteousness meaning, Prodigo would be in the image of God not in the image of a normal human being. And as Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 God will take care of his basic needs for living like food, drink and something to wear.

If he hungers and thirsts after righteousness and seeks first the kingdom of God then Prodigo will stand out from everyone else but Jesus. This is what the Bible refers to as being holy. What would a holy Prodigo act like? The word holy simply means, uniquely different with a bent toward the sacred or purposes of God; being devoted exclusively to this. That right there ought to tell Prodigo everything he needs to know about being holy. It is very similar to hungering and thirsting for righteousness.

In the Old Testament God called several things holy. He called the mountain where He met with Moses holy. He called the ground around the burning bush where He introduced Himself to Moses holy. How could a mountain and some dirt ever be considered holy? It is because they were set apart and used for God’s righteous purposes making them uniquely different. In order for Prodigo to be holy He must also align himself with the purposes of God and seek them with his entire nephesh. This is what will make him uniquely different with a bent toward the sacred!

Prodigo has a wife and three children and a job. How can he hunger and thirst after righteousness without ignoring them? By aligning his life with the purposes of God for his wife, for his children and for his job.

The first and foremost purpose God has for his wife and children is the makarios life. As we have seen so far this is not a life filled with material items. It is a life filled with God. The best way for Prodigo to help his family is for him to live the makarios life in front of them. They need to see him genuinely poor in spirit, mourning for his condition. Not resisting God’s will in his life but surrendering every moment of the day to it. They should also be a part of Prodigo’s hunger and thirst for righteousness. They need to see that he seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness more than a paycheck and material things. They need to walk hand in hand with him as he learns to walk by the Spirit. If Prodigo lives the life of makarios, his family, friends, co-workers and neighbors will see something more beautiful than even the Northern Lights flashing across the sky. They will see Prodigo as the salt and light image of God.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)

Now it is time to introduce Prodigo to a new concept for his life that essentially summarizes everything we have just gone over in four simple words; walk by the Spirit.  Sometimes the Bible calls this; being filled with the Spirit, living through the Spirit, putting on the new man or letting the word of Christ richly dwell within you. These are all different ways of saying the same thing – Prodigo needs to surrender to the control of the Spirit and let the Spirit guide and direct his life. The Holy Spirit that seals Prodigo in the declared way he is supposed to be has the same singular purpose as Jesus and the Abba Father does, which is to restore Prodigo to the way he is supposed to be.

         “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)

The flesh is the New Testament description of Prodigo’s deformed nephesh as the result of the transgression. After reading this verse Prodigo must now ask himself this question; does God ever lie? Of course He doesn’t! God is entirely righteous! When God says that if Prodigo will walk by the Spirit he will not carry out the desire of the flesh, then Prodigo needs to walk in the Spirit in order for him to become what God wants him to be.

The only way Prodigo can walk by the Spirit is if he knows how to walk by the Spirit. Jesus tells Prodigo exactly how to do this in this attitude of response to the gospel of the kingdom. Prodigo needs to hunger and thirst after righteousness with the intensity of a starving man because only then will he be filled up to overflowing with righteousness.

Intensely craving righteousness is exactly the same purpose that the Holy Spirits has for Prodigo. So is being poor in spirit, mourning for his bankrupt ways, being comforted by Jesus and surrendering to God’s sovereign, righteous rule. These attitudes are not only what the Holy Spirit wants to produce in Prodigo’s life but they are the attitudes that allow the Holy Spirit to control Prodigo’s transgressor/sinner nephesh.  

Everything that God is doing is designed to restore Prodigo back to the way he is supposed to be and prepare him for when he stands before God at the throne of judgment. Walking by the Spirit and living through the Spirit assures Prodigo now that he will have no condemnation from God after he physically dies because he has heard the voice of the Holy Spirit confirm that he is God’s child.

          “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we children of God.” (Romans 8:16)

This assurance that he is a child of God brings confidence to Prodigo so that he can relate to God as a friend and His child. Whenever he is not experiencing the makarios life Prodigo will have a tendency to keep his distance from God. The guilt from his transgression and sin will make it difficult for Prodigo to have an intimate relationship with a righteous and holy God.  

How important is it for Prodigo to hunger and thirst after righteousness? The entire purpose of the gospel of the kingdom for Prodigo’s life cannot be fulfilled unless he does. And the attitudes that Jesus addresses here is exactly how Prodigo walks by the Spirit. He does this by being poor in spirit, mourning for his condition, being gentle and hungering and thirsting for righteousness more than any other thing in his life. This is the way to walk by the Spirit.

Never was it God’s plan in sending Jesus to take all the punishment for the iniquity of Prodigo’s transgression and sin to only save him from hell. God’s plan has always been about His kingdom rule, justification and righteousness. To declare Prodigo the righteous way he is supposed to be so he can live with God forever under His sovereign, righteous rule and then to restore Prodigo to the righteous way of living, which is the makarios life.

That’s the love of God. He doesn’t just adopt a poor in spirit Prodigo who is devoid of righteousness as a transgressor/sinner. He also makes the way for Prodigo to overcome his poverty by restoring him to the full image of God. This is the goal of the gospel of the kingdom and the purpose of hungering and thirsting after righteousness. To this Jesus assures Prodigo he will be filled up to overflowing with righteousness but he must want it so strongly that unless he gets it, he will die.

 

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