The Prodigal Son

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons.12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17 “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! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 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.’” (Luke 15:11-32, NIV)

REFLECTIONS:

In his book Prodigal God, Tim Keller is right to point out that the main character in the parable of the Prodigal Son is not the prodigal son at all—it’s the father. (Pastor Greg also emphasized this in his sermon series on this parable.) In fact there is just as much emphasis placed on the older son as the younger (prodigal) son. The father’s love for both sons is reckless and uninhibited and is the focus of the story. It seems as though Jesus is asking us to think about how we receive God’s love—like the older son or the younger son?

Both sons, at least initially, had difficulty receiving their father’s love. The younger son didn’t receive or even want his father’s love—he only wanted his inheritance. The only reason the younger son even acknowledges his father is for what the father can give him. When the younger son returns and the father throws him a welcoming party; the older son storms out and ignores the father’s invitation to celebrate with them.

Just like the younger son, we often only acknowledge God for what he can give us: happiness, a respectable career, a good church community, a peaceful family, even salvation. Notice that none of these is bad in and of themselves, but when we desire only the gifts and not the Giver of the Gifts, we’ve got a problem. Our love for the Giver is then contingent upon our receiving of the gifts. We’re like the younger son who just left his father’s house with his inheritance saying, “Man, I love my dad.” It’s clear though that he doesn’t really love his father—the father is merely a lottery ticket.

Likewise, the older son places conditions upon receiving his father’s love. While the younger son is blowing through his inheritance, the older son stays home, a faithful servant who keeps all the rules. When the father throws an extremely costly celebration for the return of the younger son, the older son is indignant. He implicitly says that the father is only justified in loving someone who keeps the rules—one who is righteous—and because the father is loving the unrighteous, the older son will not love the father and will not allow the father to love him either.

While we should reflect at length on how we compare to both sons, the main character in this story is indeed the father. He is wholly magnani­mous and good. He is patient and forgiving. He is sacrificing and wel­coming. He is loving.

On Christmas day, the Father shows himself to be all of these things in his son Jesus. Paul calls Jesus “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), so everything we see to be true about Jesus is also true of the Father. God in Christ is wholly magnanimous and good. He is patient and forgiving. He is sacrificing and welcoming. He is loving. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1).

PRAYER:

Father, we repent of only wanting the things that you can give us rather than delighting in your presence. We repent of our unrighteousness but we also turn away from our righteous acts that make us think we can earn your favor or deserve your love. Like the runaway son, make us aware of our sinful condition, that we would know that in and of ourselves we are completely undeserving of your love or of being called your children. And yet strengthen us to truly understand that you run to us with welcoming arms because of what Jesus—the True and Faithful Son—has accomplished for us. Let us live out our true identity as your children instead of responding like an orphan who tries to earn your favor and is suspicious of your goodness toward us. Thank you, Father, for loving us!