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Truth Seekers Newsletter
April 27, 2008: The Prodigal Son
[Truth Seekers Home]
Today we look at a story that is often called the story of the Prodigal Son. The story is told in Luke 15:11-32. There are three main characters in the story ... the father, an older son and a younger son. At the beginning of the story, both sons are living at home with the father.
Called to Stay or Afraid to Make a Change?
At first glance, we might think that the older son was just content to stay at home. Is that true? We really don't know, but based on what this son says at the end of the story, perhaps he wasn't so contented.
In verse 29, he says he has been "slaving" for his father and "never disobeyed orders." Could it be that he secretly longed to leave, but felt he could not? Some people stay in places, long after the Lord has called them to move on.
Staying is not the "default." Staying anywhere is a calling as much as going somewhere is a calling. Listen carefully to whether the Lord is telling you to stay or telling you to go.
Do you think God wants us to stay with him as slaves? If we wanted to leave Him, would He stop us? Would He command us to come back? Do you stay with God because you want to be with Him or because you fear what might happen if you left? God wants us with Him, not by His Command, but by our choice.
I Want It and I Want It Now!
The younger son wanted to leave. He could have walked off, but he was smart enough to know he needed money. He asked his daddy for more than just for an advance on his allowance. He asked for the whole pot! Give me everything you have for me right now!
Have you ever done that? Remember that verse in Jeremiah that is both reassuring and still a little concerning? Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God knows the Plans He has for us and they are Good Plans. But it does not say that He will tell us all of those Plans at once. But most of us want to see all of what God is holding for us now!
Why do you think God does not give it all to us now ... or at least tell us what is coming to us? He wants us to grow up. If parents were to give everything they plan to give their child for a lifetime at age four, could they handle it? No, they need to grow up and learn some more things, so they can appreciate what they will receive later and they will know how to use it at just the right time.
If we get everything now, we might just do what the prodigal son was getting ready to do ... waste it ... and find that life is not nearly as fulfilling as we thought. The younger son wanted it now. The NIV translation does not say, "Dad, I've been meaning to talk to you about something." It sounds like a demand.
OK, You Can Have What You Request (Or Demand)!
His father did it. He gave the younger son his inheritance on the spot. Have you ever prayed for something and got what you asked for ... and then wished you had not gotten it? Would God give us what we asked for, if it really was not a great idea? I believe He might. Why? Perhaps to teach us a lesson. If our stupidity ultimately works to get us on the right tract, I think it is possible He might use our requests.
God, Please Look the Other Way for Just A Little While!
The son got his money and took off. He went to a distant country. Why do you think he didn't stay close to home? Is it possible that he didn't want his father to see how he was using his money?
Everything we have is God's Gift to us. Our time, our talents, our bodies and more. Think of how we use them or don't use them. How does it make you feel to know that God is watching every use of His Property every second? Does it make you want to go to a far country ... or perhaps ask God to look the other way for a few minutes, while you use His Things in a way you think He might not like?
Wild Living!
How was the son using his father's money? Was he on a mission trip? No, it says he squandered his wealth in wild living. Wild living is not an investment. When you are done with wild living, you may be older and wiser, but you won't be any wealthier "Squandered" means "worse off than when you started."
Falling a Long Way Down ...
Things got worse for the younger son. Not only did he reach a point where he had spent everything he had, but the potential for making more money dried up too. There was a famine in that whole country. When you are down and out, don't expect the world to feed you and clothe you. All those good time friends suddenly disappear. Finally the son found one person who would employ him. He got a job feeding pigs.
Were the Son's New Companions a Lesson in Humility?
When you are hungry yourself, it is tough having to feed someone else. And pigs ... what status did they have? None. They were considered unclean animals. When the son started his new job, undoubtedly he thought he was much better than the pigs. But after awhile, he got the message that he was on the same level as the pigs he was feeding. He too was unclean. Luke 15:17 tells us the son came to his senses.
Do you think it is sometimes necessary to fall to the bottom of the barrel before we look up? Will God let us fall? God will be with us every second, but yes, He will let us feel the consequences of our actions. Feeling those consequences may be the very thing that prompts us to look at our actions and how we got there in the first place.
I Want to Go Home!
After the son realized where his actions had brought him, he thought of his father. Was he longing to be in his father's presence? Not necessarily! He was longing for food. He was hungry and he realized what he could get from his father.
Listen to many of our prayers. Are we just wanting to be in our Father's Presence or are we asking him for things?
I'm Not Worthy to Be Your Child Anymore ...
When the son thought of going home to daddy, he realized that he could not expect to be treated as a son. He thought all he had done had ended that relationship. Have you ever been in a position where you thought you had fallen so far that God would surely not take you back ... or if He did, it would be at some level much below being His Child?
I have. When we realize how uncovered our sin makes us in the Eyes of God, we, like Adam and Eve, want to hide from God. But the son still wanted to go home. If you have that thought now, don't spend another night with the pigs! Go home! It is as simple as telling God, "I want to come home." Get up and go.
The Father Saw the Son, While He was Afar Off.
What if you are not perfect yet? What if you start home and you keep getting pulled off tract by that sin that keeps calling your name? Romans 7:23 tells us that sin wants us to be slaves.
But when did the father see the son? He saw him when he was still a long way off. Was the father sitting inside watching tv, having given up on his son a long time ago? Was the father out, beating the bushes and looking between every pig? No, the Father was at home, waiting expectantly and confidently that his son would come home.
The father was not waiting for the son to get everything perfect before he would consider restoring him. Verse 20 tells us that the father was filled with compassion for the son. Not "look at the mess he's made of things." Not "well, this will teach him a lesson." Not "wait until he gets to the house. I'll give him a piece of my mind." But the father was filled with compassion. That is how God our Father feels when He sees us come limping home.
Joy!
The father ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. He didn't even wait for the son to make the last laps alone. He went to him! He didn't make the son falter through what to say. The father made it clear how he felt through his actions.
When we are dirty and are being held in an embrace against the very Heart of God, how does it make us feel? Just as the son spoke it ... unworthy. Next to the perfection of God, we see just how imperfect we are. This is where it is tempting to wrest free of God's Embrace and run!
But if we stay in that Embrace, 1st John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins to Him, He can be depended upon to forgive us and cleanse us from every wrong. Not only does He forgive, but He restores us to our rightful place. We are not His Slave. We are restored to an honored place as His Child!
Were we ever not His Child? No, we have always been His Child. But we may have become so dirty that no one, not even we ourselves, recognized us as a Child of the King. When we stay in His Embrace, He cleans us up and we see who we are ... and Whose we are.
But The Story's Not Over ...
Now remember the older son, including his attitude. He was not happy about the homecoming of the younger son. He thought that place in the family worked on a fee for service basis. If you put in X number of years as a Christian, shouldn't you get more Christian dollars than someone who just walked in the door?
Sometimes we act that way. Those of us who have been Christians for years may get disturbed when people start listening to the new Christian kid more than they do to us. How much more so if the new Christian kid was really a bad kid during the years that we have been being a good kid!
But of what did the Father remind the older son? He reminded him that he had had the Gift of His Presence all those years ... and had had access to everything the Father owned. Every moment of our Christian experience is a Gift from God. The father was saying, "Recognize what you have already received and know that I love you so much, I will keep giving, as long as you are willing to receive. I want you at the party too. The only way you are not going to be there is if you keep choosing to stay outside!"
God, our Father, reminds us that being a Child in His Family is never going to be about comparisons to others. Being in God's Family is simply about our relationship to Him. And the Kingdom will always be about the whole Body of Christ. When even one sinner comes home, we are all blessed!
Praise God for His Mercy and Compassion! Praise Him that He always keeps the Light on and that He never slumbers nor sleeps. Praise God, He is always looking for us and will rejoice when we are safely Home with Him!
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