We are in a prophetic season of family restoration! I see the Lord touching the world in a way that will restore the hearts of fathers and mothers to their sons and daughters just as we see in Malachi 4:5.
Beyond that, I see God moving through the Church to impact the fatherless generation …not with the goal to only get prodigals back in the Church building, but rather prioritizing reconciling orphans back to our Heavenly Father first! I’d like to propose that if you’re reading this, you have an opportunity to powerfully partner with this word and become a conduit for reconciliation on the earth!
On last week’s blog we dialogued about this million-dollar question — how does a generation raised in a proverbial orphanage migrate home and successfully create healthy families for the first time in decades? Today, I want to uncover the profound importance of the role of community in reconciling the lost, estranged and disconnected back to the Father and back into the Church family!
PROPHETICALLY PREPARING FOR REENTRY
As I mentioned in Part 1 last week , on Sunday morning, August 20, 2019, as I was preparing to lead prayer at Bethel Church, I suddenly heard this phase in my spirit, “Prepare for reentry!” I stood there trying to understand the God-ordained context of this apparent prophetic proclamation. Suddenly, the prodigal son’s story began to play in my head like a divine documentary. You can read about this prophetic experience, what it means for the role of the proverbial fathers and mothers, and the importance of true repentance that leads to freedom for the prodigals in Part 1 of this blog post .
Let’s dive further into uncovering what this prophetic word and parable mean for the Body of Christ in this hour...Picking up in the story when the son, who has forsaken his inheritance, left his family and squandered his life away to prostitutes has an epiphany; “What the heck am doing at this pig palace when I could be living at my father’s farm?” So he comes to himself and heads home.
His dad has prepared for his son’s reentry because he’s been living in hopeful observation. Furthermore, the father, understanding that shame could derail his boy’s reunion and seeing his son a long way off; runs out to greet him. Throwing his strong arms around his son, he begins kissing him. The boy, riddled with disgrace and wallowing in humiliation, spills his guts, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”
But his father has envisioned this reunion and rehearsed his reentry a million times in his imagination. The father, in utter exhilaration, shouts to his servants, “Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”
What’s obscure but powerful here is the father’s influence over the environment’s mindset concerning his son’s reentry.
First of all, he dictates the narrative of his son’s return; “it’s time to celebrate!”
You might be thinking, “What! This rebellious punk wasted his father’s wealth on loose living and drug the family name through the pig trough. Furthermore, he trashed his relationship with God in favor of wild women and drunken parties and now the kid runs out of cash so he wants to drag is sorry butt home! NO WAY!”
But his father won’t tolerate that kind of thinking!
THE FATHERS AND MOTHERS SET THE TONE
Instead, his father requires the community to participate in his son’s restoration; “You put the robe on his back, the sandals on his feet and the ring on his finger!” The father alone didn’t restore him, he orchestrated his restoration so that the entire community reestablished his nobility, (the robe), his purity, (the sandals), and his authority, (the ring).
Then the father shouts, “Hey, guys, kill the fattened calf I have been raising for this special occasion and let’s get this party started!” This is such an important step because the son is not left to try and work out his relationship with the family, his peer group and the community. The father has established the attitude of reemergence for his son so that there will be no punishment, no cold shoulders, no confrontation or rebuke…just a big party with music, eating, drinking and dancing. (See Luke 15:11-32)
LOST SONS AND DAUGHTERS ARE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS
The servants and the community embrace the father’s mindset but the father has an older son who isn’t happy about his father’s attitude towards his brother’s reentry! The older brother, separated from the family and drowning in his poverty mentality in hard work and self-righteousness, hears the people partying from his field of frustration and orders his servant to tell him what’s going on.
“Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound,” the servant replies. Livid, the pretentious elder brother refuses to join the celebration. But the wise father, true to his nature, and unafraid of confrontation, journeys out again…this time to meet his older son in the field imploring him to join the festivities.
But the son answered, “Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never even given me a goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.”
The elder brother’s reply is telling. Did you notice his description of the prodigal, “this son of yours,” not, “this brother of mine?”
His bitterness has detached and disconnected him from thinking like a member of a family. But the wise father reassures his son of his own place in his heart. He said to him, “Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. In other words, your brother’s restoration doesn’t, in any way, diminish your place with me. I gave your brother the fattened calf but you own the farm!”
Check out the climax of the father’s salutation, “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.” Did you catch it… “This brother of yours?”
His dad just took his wayward son and reconnected him to the elder brother! The implication is: you have responsibility for your BROTHER’S reentry because he is part of your family.
The truth is that it’s so easy to be critical of something you don’t have to participate in. Yet owning the problem is half of the solution.
YOUR ROLE IN RECONCILING THE LOST BACK INTO THE FAMILY
If you don’t have an estranged or disconnected loved one it can be easy to separate yourself from any responsibility in reconciliation. However, the truth is that the Bible calls us all ministers of reconciliation (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-20)!
So, what can you do?
This may be hard to swallow, but there are invisible forces at work in our visible world and some of those forces are opposed to us. In fact, these evil forces (i.e. demons) actually want to kill loved ones, destroy families and steal legacies. That’s why so much of what goes on in the life of disconnected fathers, mothers and children is often irrational because it’s being driven by an unseen yet powerful enemy. (I wrote an entire book on this subject entitled Spirit Wars, Winning the Invisible War with Sin and the Enemy ; so for the sake of not being redundant I want to encourage you to read that book).
One of the most powerful practical steps you can take as a sister or brother in the Kingdom Family who is already “living on the farm” is to pray — intercede for those who are disconnected, hurting and living in shame to be supernaturally restored in Jesus’ name!
Then, when they come home, be ready to reestablish their nobility , (the robe), their purity, (the sandals), and their authority, (the ring)! This is our family creed, our noble responsibility, and our urgent assignment!
How else do you see the Body of Christ welcoming the prodigals home? I’d love to hear your thoughts and insights in the comments below!
