Lost and Found

Biblical Wisdom From The Parable of The Prodigal Son

I quite like the parable of the Prodigal Son. It’s a powerful lesson, still very much applicable today and will be forever. At the heart of why I like it so much is the parallel I can draw between the younger son who demanded his inheritance early to leave home and live a life of reckless independence and the years I spent disillusioned and out of church believing I could live this life on my own terms, seeking every pleasure and thrill life had to offer under the guise of freedom.

The parable is found in Luke 15:11-32, but for those unfamiliar with it, here’s a quick summary:

The younger of two sons demanded his inheritance early, left home to live a worldly life and squandered his inheritance on self-gratification. Things took a turn for the worse, he ended up getting a menial job feeding pigs until he returned home in humility. While his father welcomed him back with open arms, his older brother struggled with a sense of injustice and self-righteousness.

I encourage you to read the parable in its entirety, as my summary does not do it justice.

N.B.: All scriptures are taken from the NIV version of the Bible

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t think this parable is solely about a rebellious son. I believe it speaks to the complexities of human relationships, our misguided beliefs, incongruencies between the self and the spirit and the unwavering and expansive nature of God’s love, grace and redemption.

I hope I can do this parable justice through my attempt to unpack it. Let’s dive in.

Every Journey & Timeline is Unique

It’s easy to throw stones from our glass houses as believers, insisting that our truth is the only truth and that others are wrong for not seeing what we see. The Parable of the Prodigal Son, however, reminds us that faith is a journey, and not everyone arrives at understanding at the same time.

Both sons had the same father. Though not explicitly stated, we can assume they were raised in the same home, exposed to the same teachings, resources and opportunities. Yet their actions revealed the differences in their beliefs and values and even how they viewed their father.

The younger son strayed from God, not so dissimilar to many of us who were exposed to Christianity but ventured away from it. He sought fulfilment in worldly pursuits, much like how we get distracted by temporary worldly pleasures. He also demanded his inheritance at the time that he set out, not so dissimilar to our tendency toward instant gratification, and wanting blessings on our timeline rather than God’s.

This parable speaks to the fact that our journeys and timelines are unique, and just because we become less ignorant earlier than others, we are not superior to them. We grow at our own pace. Some of us embrace divine truth quickly, while others learn through mistakes, setbacks and life’s harsh lessons. Some of us take time.

Free will plays a key role in our journey and development. The beauty of free will is also the burden that comes with it; it is unpredictable and complex rather than deterministic. We are presented with the choice of following God or not. Rather than judge those who take longer to come round to His teachings, we are to celebrate every time someone chooses Christ.

Joshua made it clear to the Israelites that they were free to choose who they wanted to serve, highlighting to us today that it’s a personal choice:

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”

- Joshua 14:15

The World Can’t Fill Our Emptiness

The demand for his inheritance early and setting out for a “distant country” suggests deep dissatisfaction with his life. I want to offer the perspective that he wanted independence, excitement and the idea of self-sufficiency. I’d like us to consider the possibility that his desire to venture out on his own reflected something deeper: his blindness to his purpose.

When we’re unsure what we’re meant to be doing, we often spend our time on trivial pursuits trying to escape our boredom, feelings of inadequacy and lack of purpose. In our material-driven society, many of us spend our lives chasing worldly pleasures, engaging in reckless behaviour and trying to amass wealth, hoping they will silence our inner restlessness; just like the prodigal son believed his inheritance and wild living would bring him happiness, freedom and fulfilment.

But there’s an irony and a lesson in there being a famine in the country after he had spent everything. Suddenly, he found himself in desperate need. I believe the famine is a metaphor for the emptiness we feel following the attainment of material gain and fleeting pleasure. It reflects what it’s like seeking external fulfilment to an internal emptiness.

The emptiness is spiritual. I believe when there’s a disconnect from God, the soul hungers for meaning and purpose. Many of us try to fill the void in our souls with meaningless relationships, careers, social media validation and material wealth. Similarly, the prodigal son tried to fill the void with a job feeding pigs. “Feeding pigs” represents a powerful metaphor highlighting the futility in trying to satisfy our spiritual needs in worldly desperation.

We often hear about successful people being unhappy, but rarely do we heed the warnings within this. There’s a paradox that exists in attempting to fill our spiritual emptiness with the world, we find ourselves facing a more profound lack. Verse 16 tells us, “He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything”. No one can give us anything because the world can’t provide what only God can.

Solomon, a man who had EVERYTHING, concluded Ecclesiastes by telling us to fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14), but let me draw your attention to where he calls worldly pursuits meaningless:

“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”

- Ecclesiastes 2:10-11

Remember Who You Are and Whose You Are

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist” is a popular quote and one I’d love to discuss with someone someday. That being said, I would argue that the greatest trick the enemy ever pulled was convincing us to forget who we are, but more importantly, Whose we are.

The prodigal son returning home is often framed as an act of humility. I don’t disagree with that line of thinking, but let’s sit with it for a moment and consider another perspective; he had lost sight of who he was but more importantly had his perception of his father and his father’s capacity for love, grace and forgiveness distorted during his time in the “distant country”.

His fall from grace and descent into poverty stripped him of his identity and worth. One could suggest his experience of the “distant country” broke him down. He left his father’s house wealthy, independent and filled with pride, but after experiencing destitution, humiliation and rejection, he no longer saw himself as a beloved son.

He also fundamentally misunderstood his father and his father’s character. He deemed himself unworthy and proceeded to attempt to project these feelings of unworthiness onto his father, who swiftly ordered the best robe for him, gave him a ring and new sandals. On top of that, he ordered a feast and celebration for his son’s return. Considering his plan versus his father’s actions, I wonder if he misunderstood his father…just like many of us misunderstand our Father?

The weight of shame and guilt tried to hold him back, but his father quickly restored what was lost. I believe the robe, ring and sandals symbolised restoration; a reminder of whose the prodigal son was. We often assume our failures, shame and guilt - powerful tools of the enemy designed to keep us stuck and feeling beyond redemption - hold us back.

It is important we remember that despite how far we strayed and how long we strayed for, none of us are beyond redemption. The father’s actions reveal the nature of God’s love and grace. We are not servants trying to earn a place in His kingdom, we are His sons and daughters who already belong there.

“I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent”

- Luke 15:10

Be Weary of Self-Righteousness, Bitterness and Entitlement

There’s something about the older brother’s reaction - getting and refusing to celebrate his brother’s return (at absolutely no expense to him, mind you) - that speaks to abiding by the principles of our Father but not having the heart or embodying the person of our Father. His reaction was laced with self-righteousness, comparison and a nasty sense of entitlement.

The older brother was resentful, which is a common human tendency. We compare ourselves to others and feel entitled to recognition for our good deeds. We feel slighted when our loyalty and hard work go unnoticed and unrewarded. Envy of siblings who appear to get more love from a parent, annoyance at the colleague getting recognition though we’ve worked harder than them and the general feeling of “more deserving” are some examples.

The older son’s reaction should serve as a reminder to check our hearts and how we view our position and responsibilities while we’re living. In verse 29, it became evident he viewed himself as a servant rather than a son, and he had also been keeping score (“All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders”). He also focused on lack (“Yet you never even gave me a young goat…”).

How often do we fall into the same trap of comparing our faithfulness and our hard work to others and wonder why they are reaping rewards and we aren’t? How often do we allow the self and self-centeredness to rule our thoughts and actions? How often do we focus on lack rather than the abundance that’s already ours?

Just like the enemy got Eve to focus on lack rather than the abundance available to them caused the fall of man, the older brother focused on lack rather than the abundance available to him. See his father’s response in verse 31: “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.’”. Everything his father had was his, but he was pressed over a goat.

I believe the older brother indulged his flesh rather than walk by the Spirit. Remember what Paul said about the flesh:

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

- Galatians 5:13 -14

God’s Unconditional Love

The very essence of the parable of the Prodigal Son is the overwhelming, never-ending, unconditional, non-transactional love and grace of God, brought to life by the father’s actions. This is the central message. He ran to his son. He embraced his son. Celebrated his son. And restored his son. God’s love is not measurable or bound by human actions or expectations.

The prodigal son came back expecting rejection and having to work to earn his place and forgiveness, assuming he was no longer worthy of being his son. His father never stopped seeing him as his son. God’s love is not conditional, nor is it partial. No matter how far we strayed, we can always come home.

The image of an older man running to meet his son, especially when we consider the nature of the culture back then, brings to light the nature of God’s love. I believe He will go to great lengths to restore our relationship with Him, all that’s required is for us to choose Him and return home.

I believe we’re also called to reflect this in how we treat and love others. I won’t sit here and lie to you that I always embody this, but I’m working on it. I believe we are called to welcome back people with open arms. Welcome them back without resentment, conditions or judgment. The prodigal son is a story about the Father and the nature of His love.

Speaking on the nature of His love for us:

“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

- Romans 5:8

Concluding

We don’t get told if the older brother goes in to join the celebration. We don’t get told if he softens his heart towards his younger brother. Instead, we are left with his father’s message. What if the reason for this is because we are left with our Father’s message (the Bible) and it’s up to us to decide if we will be like the older brother - resentful, self-righteous and bitter - or like the father - full of joy, mercy and grace with an eagerness to celebrate every lost soul coming home?

Like I said earlier, the parable of the Prodigal Son is one that deeply resonates with me. I’m grateful for the people who made me feel welcome and encouraged me when I came home and I pray we can all be like the father in the parable, embodying the character and the person of our Father.

I hope you found this insightful and learned a thing or two from reading it. My challenge to you is to continuously check your heart, especially when you feel slighted and ask yourself if your feelings and actions reflect the Spirit or the flesh.

As always, make a decision that future you will be grateful for.

Have a great week!

CT