This week my teammate and I taught the story of the Prodigal Son in our Bible English class. I had full intentions of the students grasping the concept of grace. The symbolism of the story proclaims that in the same way the father had grace on his son and loved him no matter how far he ran, God has that same type of grace and mercy on us. Once we read through the story and I asked them what they learned from it, I fully expected for this to be the answer they shared. Instead, all of the students said they had learned that we should be like the older brother who was obedient and never ran away or sinned against his father. We must be obedient.
I was a little stunned at first, because I have never viewed this familiar story from that perspective. However, as I thought about it more, I came to understand that the religion of these people is solely based off works and the things that they do in their own strength in order to get close to the Father. The concept of grace is completely foreign to them, because they gain favor with their god through obedience.
I did my best explaining what we can learn from this story and prayed that the Holy Spirit would use my broken words to help them understand this multi-faceted concept of grace, but by the time the class was over, their answers were the same. "We must be like the older brother. We must be obedient." I left feeling discouraged that they don't understand that there is a beautiful gift being placed before them, and that all they have to do is accept and find freedom. But they are blinded by the idea of works.
Prayer Requests:
Please pray for the people of West Africa, that the concept of grace would be presented to them clearly and that they would have ears to hear and eyes to see grace for the beautiful gift that it is and accept is as truth.
Your Partner in Prayer,
Kendra
I was a little stunned at first, because I have never viewed this familiar story from that perspective. However, as I thought about it more, I came to understand that the religion of these people is solely based off works and the things that they do in their own strength in order to get close to the Father. The concept of grace is completely foreign to them, because they gain favor with their god through obedience.
I did my best explaining what we can learn from this story and prayed that the Holy Spirit would use my broken words to help them understand this multi-faceted concept of grace, but by the time the class was over, their answers were the same. "We must be like the older brother. We must be obedient." I left feeling discouraged that they don't understand that there is a beautiful gift being placed before them, and that all they have to do is accept and find freedom. But they are blinded by the idea of works.Prayer Requests:
Please pray for the people of West Africa, that the concept of grace would be presented to them clearly and that they would have ears to hear and eyes to see grace for the beautiful gift that it is and accept is as truth.
Your Partner in Prayer,
Kendra