usually referred to as ‘the prodigal son’, and I want to say up front that I
don’t take any credit for any of the concepts that I am putting forth in this
article as though they are mine. In fact most of them come from a lesson on this
parable by Eric Owens entitled "In God’s Defense" you can hear his excellent
lesson at this link
http://buildyourbibleunderstanding.weebly.com/uploads/7/3/2/8/7328825/in_gods_defense_-_eric_owens.mp3
In the first two parables Jesus tells in Luke 15 about the lost sheep and
coin those who represented God’s position searched without ceasing until those
two things were found, there is a shift when we come to the third parable
because it is about people and not inanimate objects or dumb animals. Let’s
notice how this father teaches us as fathers.
First, remember that the indication is that these are all adults. Young
children have to be trained and directed in their decisions, but adults are free
to make their own decisions. This son was very disrespectful of his father in
asking for the inheritance before his father was dead, yet the father let him
have it. His father accepted this with seeming equanimity and did not make a
scene. The father could have refused, but he knew that would only make the
relationship worse.
The son didn’t just get mad and run away that day, he planned his departure
"not many days after". The father did not try to force him to stay against his
will, just like God never forces us to stay if we want to leave.
The son knew he had a good father because he believed that if he went back
after wasting 1/3 of his fathers wealth and repented and asked to be a servant
his father would accept that. The son didn’t realize how good his father really
was because he never could have imagined the response he received when he
returned. We need to realize some things about this father. He loved his son
deeply. He missed his son terribly. Despite that, he did not go out looking for
his son. He waited hoping for the son’s return, but never chased him. He
realized that chasing him would have driven him further away. He also didn’t
bail him out. Sometimes a person needs to hit the bottom before he will start
looking back up. The father could have hired someone to follow the boy and find
out where he was and keep him out of trouble, but this father knew that it is
essential to character development to let a man face the consequences of his
actions and decisions. We often fail in this area especially with people we care
about. A sweet little darling has mama or daddy wrapped around his or her little
finger and we won’t let them feel any pain. When we do that we are setting them
up for more pain down the road.
It is so difficult to know how to handle each situation, but the better we
get to know our children when they are young the better we will know when to let
go, when to hold on, when to chase, and when to wait. Our children need to know
that we love them and that when they are ready to come back and do right we want
them to and we have been waiting for them to do it. They also need to know that
our love is tough. There are boundaries and rules and consequences for the
decisions and choices we make in life and relationships. How different would
this parable have been if the boy had wasted all the money and come back for
more rather than coming with the contrite heart as he did?
Next time we will learn some more about this loving father.