Part 5 of “Left Unasked”
Luke 15:28–30
(28)But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, (29)but he answered his father, ‘Look, 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. (30)But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’(ESV)
There’s a part of us that doesn’t want grace. At least, not for other people. We say we believe in mercy, but we still want the scale to balance. We want bad people to get what they deserve. We want the self-righteous exposed. We want the entitled humbled. We want fairness. And then grace comes in and wrecks all of that.
The Older Brother Didn’t Reject the Father—He Rejected the Grace
Luke 15 is one of the most familiar stories in Scripture. The “Prodigal Son.” But the story doesn’t end with the lost son coming home. It ends with the older brother standing outside the party, angry. Not because the younger brother came home. But because he got grace without payment.
Luke 15:29
but he answered his father, ‘Look, 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.(ESV)
He was saying, “I earned this. He didn’t.” That’s the real conflict: Grace offends our inner accountant. It breaks the formula we’ve lived by.
Grace Doesn’t Settle the Score—It Erases It
Romans 11:6
But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.(ESV)
Grace isn’t God being “extra nice.” It’s a whole different economy.
Justice says:
- You did wrong → you pay.
- You did right → you earn.
Grace says:
- You did wrong → He paid.
- You can’t earn → He gives.
To someone raised under law—religious or secular—grace feels like cheating. Like injustice. Because it lets people off the hook that we think they should hang from. And that’s the point.
The Cross Is Where Grace Offended Everyone
It offended the religious elite—because it bypassed their control. It offended the Romans—because it exalted a crucified man. It offends us—because it declares we cannot save ourselves.
Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions… and with his wounds we are healed.(ESV)
Justice wasn’t denied at the Cross. It was satisfied—on someone else’s body.
Until Grace Offends You, You Haven’t Understood It
If you’ve never found grace uncomfortable…
If you’ve never wanted someone to “get what they deserve” while God blesses them anyway…
If you’ve never gritted your teeth when someone you think is a fraud gets lifted up…
Then you probably haven’t seen how deep grace really goes.
Matthew 20:15–16
(15)Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ (16)So the last will be first, and the first last.”(ESV)
God’s grace is offensive. But it’s also the only reason any of us are still breathing.
Reflection Questions
- Where in your life are you resisting grace because it doesn’t seem fair?
- Who have you struggled to forgive—not because they didn’t repent, but because grace feels like letting them win?
- Are you ready to accept grace not just as a gift, but as the full replacement of the justice system you grew up believing in?
Next Post: Returning to the Ask
In the final post, we’ll return to the garden and explore how reclaiming the courage to ask is the first step back to everything we lost.
Walking With Christ 
Leave a comment