The Sunday Sermonette – Are You the Prodigal Child or the Father?
Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son is among the most touching in the New Testament. The son in the story represents a person living in rebellion against those who loved him. The son insisted on living his own life and demanded that his father give him his inheritance early. When his father did, the son left home to explore the world he thought would soothe his longings.
Not long after doing so, he had squandered his inheritance, living a life devoted to self-indulgence, decadence, and shallow fulfillment. He ended up living in abject poverty. His poverty led to hunger, and to appease his hunger, he worked on a farm, tending pigs and eating their slop to survive.
To a Jew, this would have been a loathsome position. Pigs were considered unclean, but his gnawing hunger obliterated his religious upbringing, so he ate and slept with the pigs to survive. To top it off, it appears he could find no love among his friends because the scriptures say, “No one gave him anything.” Apparently, once his wealth evaporated, so did his friends.
Sometimes, though, in life, we must hit rock bottom before coming to our senses and recognizing that what we longed for did not bring us happiness or fulfill our longings. Do we wallow in our own manmade, mucky pigsty, and then, like the Prodigal, come to our senses?
The parable goes on to say: “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! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.'”
For all you fathers who might read this, can you feel the hurt and pain in the father’s heart once his son left home? Can you see the tears shed for his departed son? Can you hear the father’s prayers for his return? Can you fathom his sleepless nights? His weary days? However, place yourself in the father’s shoes when he looked down a long, dusty path on a bright, cloudless day and saw his son wearily walking home.
Did the father chastise the Prodigal for his lack of good judgment? Curse him for embarrassing the family? Belittle his morality? No! “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.”
The Parable of the Prodigal Son is also one of the Bible’s most beautiful pictures of something else: Father God’s grace. We have all been like the Prodigal Son at some point in our lives—we have run from God, selfishly squandered our resources, and wallowed in the pigsty of our sins. But our ever-loving, ever-caring Father God stands ready to forgive. He will save the repentant, not by their good works, but by His grace, through their faith in Jesus Christ.
This Father’s Day, here’s the question: Are you the Father or the Prodigal Son?
As a father, do you need to contact that Prodigal Son or Daughter who has left home? The one who stole your heart as a child and threw it back in your face as an adult? If so, consider reaching out with a letter or a phone call, expressing your love and desire for reconciliation.
Or are you that son or daughter who needs to reconnect with your estranged father and say, “I love you and miss you. May I please come home?” If so, take the first step by expressing your feelings and asking for forgiveness.
Ponder this and go forth.