God loves the older brother just as much as he does the younger brother, and I think that its time that the older brother hear about it.

There have been a lot of elder brothers in the history of the church. There was St. Teresa, who lived in the 16th century. She never left the Father's home. She went into a convent at an early age and developed a life of self-discipline that would fill anyone with awe. She spent hours a day in prayer. One day, when she was in her mid 40's, she was entering the chapel to pray as she did everyday. And as she entered she noticed a picture, a picture which had been on the walls for years. It was a picture of Jesus being scourged prior to the crucifixion. And suddenly the realization came to her the Christ had been scourged for her. And those who have studied her life say that this was the great turning point. She had stayed at home in the Father's house. She had done the right thing. But she needed to know that the Christ who was whipped was whipped for Teresa. And there was joy in heaven that day—-not over a soul returning from wild living but for a soul returning from the fields after a hard days work.

United Methodists certainly know about the elder brother, because their own John Wesley was the best of them. He was so earnest, so methodical about his devotional life that people called him a Methodist and the name stuck. But it was not until his 35th year, after years of ministry, when he was at Aldersgate, that Wesley experienced God in such a way that he was able to write: "I suddenly felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt that Christ had died for my sins, even mine and had saved me from the law of sin and death." Wesley had never gone to the far country. But Wesley needed to know how much God loved him too. He needed to feel some excitement about his religion. He needed a homecoming party.