The Youngest

Praying through the Lord's prayer recently the Lord has given me a new way to think about what it means to be like the youngest as a method for kingdom greatness (Luke 22:26). For years I have meditated through "thy kingdom come" using the Jesus' responses to his disciples questions about who is greatest in the kingdom. Thinking about being the youngest has always meant to me the one with the least rights, and least power. I would think about the middle eastern tradition in which the inheritance would go to the eldest, leaving the youngest with little to nothing. Recently the Lord has given me a broader view of what it means to behave as the youngest. There is much to be learned from studies of birth order, although a lot of this is intuitive and backed up with scriptural examples. The youngest are less inclined to obey the rules. They are less likely to be compulsive. They are more generous typically. They are more passionate. Sometimes they come across as rebels and irresponsible. These things were true of the prodigal son. Obviously we can go astray as "youngest." But we can also go astray as eldest. In the parable both went astray. The younger more obviously, but the eldest was just as lost in his jealousy and superiority as the youngest was in his wanderings. In the end the youngest was safely in the fold, while position of the eldest is not reveled in the parable. The Lord is asking me to live for Him with more abandon--more like a younger child. He wants all his children in the fold, but I think he is put off by the elder sons denial of their weaknesses and their timidity of spirit. Much better to fly away cold and run home red hot than to remain luke warm and at arms length. Better yet to stay home and hot.