Haven.inc

We've all had a chance to read the story of the prodigal son. If you haven't, you should give it a read. Someone once called the parable the parable of the loose-lipped servant or something along those lines. But more than being a parable of the lost son, it is a mirror that shows what kind of person we are in our daily lives.  The parable of the prodigal son reveals to us different categories of people in the world. It begs the question. what kind of person are you?  1. The All-loving and All-forgiving Father   The perfect figure of love and compassion beyond the ordinary. This Father's love extended beyond the love of his sons, this love was evident in the treatment of his servants, so much that the son was willing to return to his father as a servant even if he had lost his place as a son.  Would people return to us if they lost our love or trust? Imagine his father had matreated his servants, he might have lost a son forever. What kind of person are you?  ...

Mary's husband, Joseph, wasn't touched on much again in Scriptures after the birth and infancy of Christ, but I cannot help but wonder that we need more men (and women) like Joseph.  The Bible records Joseph as a just man [Greek - dikaios (δίκαιος)]:This is the same moral category used for figures like Noah, Abraham and Job.  It signifies a covenant-faithful man. This is indeed higher praise than the English translation provides.  WHAT DID HE DO WHEN HE FOUND THAT MARY WAS PREGNANT?   Matthew 1:18–19 says that before they came together, Mary was found to be with child. Joseph, being described as “just” (righteous), did not want to expose her to public disgrace, so he decided to “put her away quietly.”   1. He chose to put her away (which was his right to do).  2. He chose to do it quietly (of which he had no obligation to).  He chose love, and doing the right thing even in the face of apparent betrayal. Most of us would take the first option, ...