The elder brother turned away, conflicted emotions churning within. His dutiful loyalty felt overlooked and unappreciated. Hadn’t righteousness earned reward?
“Why would father celebrate the return of my brother, who was nothing but trouble?”
With heart heavy and the weight of comparison, he found no solace in the feast, Resentment fueled by the thought that his efforts were deemed less than his least. In the shadows, he stood, pride and bitterness his unwanted guests, As the celebration of grace unfolded, he wrestled with a soul distressed.
He recalled the nights spent toiling, while his brother wandered astray, How he had stayed the course, obeyed, and never strayed away. In the fields, he sought approval, seeking to earn his father’s praise, But in the light of his brother’s return, he felt his efforts erased.
“I keep all the commandments,” he mused, “my path is straight and clear, Why then is grace necessary, when perfection is what I hold dear? I’ve toiled with unwavering devotion, in every law I abide, Grace seems a refuge for the weak, a shelter to those who’ve strayed aside.”
In the solitude of his thoughts, in the shadow of the feast, he wrestled with the notion of grace. Why was it freely offered to one who had squandered, while he, who had been steadfast, seemingly received no reward? His heart cried out, “Why am I not praised for my years of unwavering devotion?”
His father’s love, seemingly unconditional and boundless, beckoned him to embrace humility and acknowledge his own need for grace. Grace, not a reward for a checklist of deeds, but a balm for the human heart, which all, the wayward and the steadfast, require.
With hesitant steps, he moved towards his father………