Prodigal Father

You are probably familiar with the story of the prodigal son found in Luke 15:11-32. This story, however, is really the story of two sons and their prodigal Papa.

The youngest son began by pursuing the Father’s stuff...he didn’t want the Father Himself. He wanted what the Father could give Him. And so he asked for his inheritance and left, squandering with great extravagance what the father had given him, on his own desires. And when he came to His senses, his began to see his father’s heart and he recognized he would be able to return home and ask his father to live as his servant. And what does his father do? He is waiting for his son’s return and re-instates him as a son, in a celebration of honor and dignity.

The oldest son worked with diligence and responsibility, cultivating his father’s property with steady work. Yet when the younger brother returns and there is a celebration, he refuses to go inside. Instead, he becomes angry and the father must come outside and “plead” with him. It is here that the heart of the oldest son is revealed in his response. “Look!” he says. “All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.” Slaving for you. In other words, I have gone about your business because I had to, I was obliged to, I was forced to. The oldest son, though not a slave to his desires (like his younger brother), was living as though he was a slave to his own father. How this must have broken the father’s heart!

Two sons. Considering their different behavior - the youngest squandering his father’s wealth, the oldest cultivating his father’s wealth - this looks like two different problems. But at a deep level – both sons have become slaves to different masters: one to his own desires and the other to his perceived obligations. And as a result both have missed the heart of the father. Both missed the prodigal, extravagant, undignified love of their father. Can you identify with youngest son? Or perhaps you are more like the oldest? Or maybe there is a bit of both in you.

To the youngest son: the Father awaits you. Here is the prodigal Papa – who waits at the gate for the return of those enslaved to their own desires. That gate is the cross.

To the oldest son: the Father comes and pleads with you. Here again is the prodigal Papa – who awaits you to come into the celebration and have fellowship with him, to cultivate a relationship with Him before cultivating His business. This relationship is made possible in the pleading of the cross.

See His heart for you: come to Him.                                                                                         Amanda Van Halteren