The Beatitudes: The Prodigal Son's Journey of Redemption

By Yury Gaudard

This inspiring book follows the prodigal son's journey through the Beatitudes, exploring the depths of God's unconditional love and grace. Along the way, readers will gain insight into how to live a life of faith and repentance. This book is also a manual guide to experiencing God's Presence and living a life in the Father's Arms

• Language: English
• Publisher: Yury Gaudard
• Release date: Dec 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215470626

Book preview

Matthew 5:3

When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.

Luke 15:17-19

The prodigal son represents each and every believer’s journey of finding the Father’s arms. Yes, I know, this is possibly a different take on how you normally read this passage in Luke 15.

You're probably thinking of the prodigal son as someone who is in desperate need of salvation, but I want to suggest that the prodigal son is more than just a person in desperate need of salvation. He is in desperate need of restoration or instruction to return to a state of intimacy with His Daddy again.

In fact, going to Heaven one day is the final destination after we are saved. An intimate relationship with the Father, where we experience His abundant love, purpose, and life, is the reality of the believer for every day. Paul prays in the book of Ephesians:

For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21[NIV]

We are called to experience the fullness of our adoption in Abba and have God’s Spirit testifying with our Spirit (bringing this abstract idea to a real feeling) that not only are we His children, but that our inheritance is in Him. And this is where the Beatitudes come in as a lifestyle guide to live the life God called us to live, in intimacy!

It’s totally possible for believers to live their lives far from God, as James shows in Chapter 4 of his book. It’s totally possible for us to live in quarrels, desiring and praying for things that aren’t in God’s heart, in friendship with the world, with pride, without surrender or complete submission, unrepentant and distant from God. We can be unaware that God jealously (with intense and ardent love) desires for us to be intimate with Him.

When we examine the life of the prodigal son, we notice that he abandoned his Father and proceeded to waste his time with prostitutes and parties. That reflects us when we turn away from Daddy and ask Him for blessings that will bless our hearts' desires but not His. The prodigal son portrays believers who are friends with the world and are captivated by worldly goods more than by the understanding that Daddy craves connection with us in fresh and exciting ways every day. He is envious of us. The prodigal son depicts us when we live in pride, relying on our intelligence to determine all our life decisions but far from surrendering and submitting all to God. When we live an unrepentant life, far from enabling the Holy

Spirit to transform us into the image of Christ, we are like the prodigal son. When we do not do what is mentioned in the book of James, we are like the prodigal son:

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

James 4:8-10 [NIV]

But the prodigal son can also represent us upon our realization that there is so much more to our life when we live our lives in the Arms of the Father. Look at the words of Jesus:

So, you must remain in life-union with me, for I remain in life-union with you. For as a branch severed from the vine will not bear fruit, so your life will be fruitless unless you live your life intimately joined to mine. I am the sprouting vine and you’re my branches. As you live in union with me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you— but when you live separated from me you are powerless.

John 15:4-5 [TPT]

The prodigal son can represent us when we come to our senses and realize there’s a distance, a dishonoring, and a separation in our lives with regards to us experiencing closeness with Daddy. This is true in seeking Him first and above all things, in submitting everything to Him, in humbling ourselves and surrendering ourselves with our hearts broken and desperate for Him.

When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.

Luke 15:17-19 [NIV]

He came to his senses and said: I have sinned, I am not worthy. Make me one of your servants, one of your slaves. Then we have Jesus in Matthew 5:3 saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven and when we compare the reaction of the prodigal son and the meaning of being poor in spirit, the prodigal son’s reaction is the exact meaning of being poor in spirit.

Poor in spirit means humility, the humbling of oneself, recognizing oneself as a beggar that has nothing to offer with a dire need of God’s assistance, that’s unworthy, that’s in the place of make me like one of your servants.

In a sense, being poor in spirit is to recognize that: in ourselves we have nothing;

we need Jesus;

we are not worthy;

we cannot attain spiritual worth through self-effort in the absence of Jesus; our worth can only come from Him;

we are before Him to serve and not