“SON, YOU ARE ALWAYS WITH ME, AND ALL THAT IS MINE IS YOURS.”
— Luke 15:31
In Jesus’ story of the prodigal son, the younger brother is well-remembered for his reckless living, but the self-righteous older brother may have been worse. When the younger brother received a welcome-home party, the older brother stayed far away from the music and dancing.
But the same father who ran at his younger son’s return also went out into the field to woo his older son to come home as well.
‘Unfair,’ the older son seems to object. “These many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.”
The father’s response cuts right to the heart. It begins with one word, Son.
The older brother was arguing like a servant instead of acting like a son. Servants earn. Sons inherit. Servants strive. Sons receive.
I picture the two of them alone in a field at sunset. The father looks around and then says, ‘I don’t see any servants here. But you, you are my son. Remember who you are.’
The father then continues, You are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
The older son wanted a party. The father gave him everything. All that is mine is yours.
Like the older brother, we are often driven to perform in order to gain worldly rewards. We strive after favor and blessing. We work and chase after that which our Father gladly gives because we’ve forgotten our true identity.
We are sons of daughters of God. Our Father loved us so much he gave his one and only son for us. And “he who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)
At the present moment are you weighed down with cares? Troubled in soul? Tangled in debt? Waiting in uncertainty? Stressed and overwhelmed?
You are a child of the living God.
Do you have problems you cannot solve? Bills you cannot pay? Questions you cannot answer?
You, my friend, are not alone. You are a child of God.
Everything you need for life and godliness our Father will freely give. If God hasn’t given it yet, you must not need it now. If you need it, God will provide it. This is his promise and our God never fails.
We are tempted to work, hustle, and perform. Jesus’ invites us to ask, seek, and knock. Our privilege is to come before God as beloved children because on the cross Jesus purchased our adoption. To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12)
Our Father knows your needs before you even ask. He’s interested in your cares and troubles. He sees your longings and desires. And our God is both rich and generous. He loves to meet our needs as we seek first his kingdom. Favor and honor come from him. So rise up in faith to again believe you are his child. This is where victory begins.
Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
Father, we rejoice in your love for us. We would settle for being your servants, but callings us sons and daughters was your idea. Strengthen us to walk in the identity and inheritance you have declared over us.
© John Rinehart 2025
