One of my favorite parables from the Good Shepherd is found in St. Luke Chapter 15: 11-32. It is sometimes called the Parable of the Lost Son, but I know it is the Parable of the Prodigal Son. This parable has a story to tell, lessons to show us, that are in some ways the very opposite of what the Good Shepherd taught us about love and giving, and about the true meaning of Christmas, that is that God loved all of us so much that HE GAVE to us Jesus, who was Emmanuel (God WITH us). Jesus taught many things, but the most important thing He taught us was that no greater love has a man for his friends that to give his life for them. Jesus not only taught the principle, He lived it, and especially He DIED IT.
The Prodigal Son, in some ways, illustrates the opposite principles, yet it teaches us positive life lessons, nonetheless. As we know, a rich man had two sons, both of whom worked faithfully and did as they were told. However, a time came when the YOUNGEST son seemed to grow tired of working on the family land, doing the chores expected of him. So he threw down his tools, went to his father, and demanded that his father give him his inheritance. The father did so, and the younger son turned his back on his father, left his older brother laboring in the fields, and set on his journey to find his place in the world. As we know, the younger son went to a foreign land, where over the next few years he spent every dime he had on partying and on false friends who wanted only to live off his money.
As I read this parable over the years, I came to believe that the father represented Jesus, and that the sons represented Christians who were to receive the promise of Jesus, that is the unknown riches we will receive when we leave this world and meet Jesus in Heaven. What I did not grasp for many years was the underlying context of the son's request, that is the disrespect and dishonor that the son showed to his father by asking for his inheritance while the father was yet alive. Especially in the Hebrew culture would this young man's request have been a slap in his father's face, and would it have brought shame on this family. Just imagine going to your parents and telling them, look, I know you are still alive, but I want my inheritance now. Not only was this a terrible and obscene request, but it violated another Hebrew custom, which was that the first-born son always received his inheritance before the younger children could receive theirs.
So we see that the prodigal son was thankless, greedy, selfish, and willing to shame his parents and disrespect his brother just so he could get his own share of the inheritance and go out to see the world. What a far cry from the One who was willing to give everything, even His life, to save you and me.
NEXT TIME: The Prodigal Son squanders his wealth, then tries to return to his father.
The Prodigal Son, in some ways, illustrates the opposite principles, yet it teaches us positive life lessons, nonetheless. As we know, a rich man had two sons, both of whom worked faithfully and did as they were told. However, a time came when the YOUNGEST son seemed to grow tired of working on the family land, doing the chores expected of him. So he threw down his tools, went to his father, and demanded that his father give him his inheritance. The father did so, and the younger son turned his back on his father, left his older brother laboring in the fields, and set on his journey to find his place in the world. As we know, the younger son went to a foreign land, where over the next few years he spent every dime he had on partying and on false friends who wanted only to live off his money.
As I read this parable over the years, I came to believe that the father represented Jesus, and that the sons represented Christians who were to receive the promise of Jesus, that is the unknown riches we will receive when we leave this world and meet Jesus in Heaven. What I did not grasp for many years was the underlying context of the son's request, that is the disrespect and dishonor that the son showed to his father by asking for his inheritance while the father was yet alive. Especially in the Hebrew culture would this young man's request have been a slap in his father's face, and would it have brought shame on this family. Just imagine going to your parents and telling them, look, I know you are still alive, but I want my inheritance now. Not only was this a terrible and obscene request, but it violated another Hebrew custom, which was that the first-born son always received his inheritance before the younger children could receive theirs.
So we see that the prodigal son was thankless, greedy, selfish, and willing to shame his parents and disrespect his brother just so he could get his own share of the inheritance and go out to see the world. What a far cry from the One who was willing to give everything, even His life, to save you and me.
NEXT TIME: The Prodigal Son squanders his wealth, then tries to return to his father.
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