Luke 15:29-30
But he answered and said to his father, "Look! For so many years I have been serving you, and I have never neglected a command of yours, and yet you have never given me a kid that I might be merry with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with harlots, you killed the fattened calf for him."I hear such wounding here, such pain and hurt. The firstborn, the responsible one, never considered that he could ask his father if he could have a party, and resented his little brother getting all the attention, undeservedly in his eyes. He was in competition with his little brother. Meanwhile, little brother, second-born and the baby, would not compete with big brother, but completely left the scene. When he ended up back home again, he expected to be treated no better than a servant. Of course, the Father loved them both.
"My son," the father said, "You are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."
We're not told if the Father's trying to talk sense to his firstborn had any change in his attitude. We can only hope that older siblings will allow their parents or others to speak sense into their hearts, to accept their younger siblings as different from themselves and worthy of friendship within the family. Friends are chosen and can come and go, but God in His goodness gives us family members who will always be family, regardless of any circumstances.
O my Father, help me to remember this when dealing and interacting with my own family members and others. Grant me to see them through Your eyes, with no blinders or filters.
