An Exacting Boss or a Loving Father?

The following comes from Tim Keller’s book, The Prodigal God.  I have copied some of the quotes or sections that I found particularly helpful (coming from Ch. 5).  I highly recommend this book as well as his recently published book, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex and Power and The Only Hope That Matters.

…..

(In reference to the elder son in Luke 15)  His spiritual problem is the radical insecurity that comes from basing his self-image on achievements and performance, so he must endlessly prop up his sense of righteousness by putting others down and finding fault.  As one of my teachers in seminary put it, the main barrier between Pharisees and God is “not their sins, but their damnable good works.”  …  To truly become Christians we must also repent of the reasons we ever did anything right…  We must learn how to repent of the sin under all our other sins and under all our righteousness-the sin of seeking to be our own Savior and Lord.  We must admit that we’ve put our ultimate hope and trust in things other than God, and that in both our wrongdoing and right doing we have been seeking to get around God or get control of God in order to get hold of those things…  When you realize that the antidote to being bad is not just being good, you are on the brink (of getting the gospel).  If you follow through, it will change everything: how you relate to God, self, others, the world, your work, your sins, your virtue.  It’s called the new birth because it’s so radical.

Keller points out that this recognition is necessary, but it is equally imperative that we understand the love of the Father in Christ…  How can the inner workings of the heart be changed from a dynamic of fear and anger to that of love, joy, and gratitude?  You need to be moved by the sight of what it cost to bring you home.  The key difference between a Pharisee and a believer in Jesus is inner-heart motivation.  Pharisees are being good but out of a fear-fueled need to control God.  They don’t really trust him or love him.  To them God is an exacting boss, not a loving father.  Christians have seen something that has transformed their hearts toward God so they can finally love and rest in the Father.

Jesus Christ, who had all the power in the world, saw us enslaved by the very things we thought would free us.  So he emptied himself of his glory and became a servant (Philippians 2).  He laid aside the infinities and immensities of his being and, at the cost of his life, paid the debt for our sins, purchasing us the only place our hearts can rest, in his Father’s house.  Jesus was stripped naked of his robe and dignity so that we could be clothed with a dignity and standing we don’t deserve.  On the cross Jesus was treated as an outcast so that we could be brought into God’s family freely by grace.  There Jesus drank the cup of eternal justice so that we might have the cup of the Father’s joy.  There was no other way for the heavenly Father to bring us in, except at the expense of our true elder brother.

The selfless love (of Christ) destroys the mistrust in our hearts toward God that makes us either younger brothers or elder brothers.