So. Just how far would you go in order to help one of your children? Is there a limit to your patience? Is there a point they can reach that will totally alienate them from you? Could anyone conceivably ‘disown’ their own flesh and blood?
Maybe someone else could; you never know in the world we live in today. But I simply cannot comprehend a time, place, or circumstance that would cause me to do so. I have four children of my own and they are each golden to me, despite the fact that from time to time they may upset me or disappoint me. Yes, it is love that I have for them, but it is also something deeper that we share, something that words here would only cheapen as it is indescribable. It is a feeling that only a parent can understand.
Back in Sunday school when we were small, one of the first stories we learned from the Bible was the story of the Prodigal Son. We could, as children, view the story from the perspective of the son, though no one thought they would ever actually do what he did in the story, at least not me. It is funny that now that I am older and have children of my own, I can see the story through the father’s eyes as well.
Webster’s defines ‘prodigal’ as one who squanders. The boy in the story asks his father for his inheritance and leaves for greener pastures, so he thinks. With no one to guide him, he squanders away his money right as the economic times are getting tough. When he finds himself feeding pigs for a living and even eating with them, he decides it would be better to go home and become a servant for his father than to continue living as such. Pigs were considered unclean to Jews and this was an example of hitting rock bottom; anything would be an improvement from where he now found himself. He goes home, rehearsing his speech along the way, but while he is still a long way off from home, his father sees him and runs out to greet him. He cleans the boy up, gives him a robe and a ring, and throws a feast for him complete with a ‘fatted calf’.
From this story, we know that Jesus is explaining our relationship to God. We can rebel against God and He will let us go our own way, even though He knows it will always lead to disaster on our part when we do so. Notice another thing in the story; despite giving his son his part of the inheritance ahead of time, the father was not hurt financially at all. God loses nothing when we depart from Him. But he is waiting for us to return, watching for us, just like the father in the story. Why? Because He loves us.
Jesus told this story to a crowd that had gathered around him, and that crowd included the Scribes and Pharisees (church going folks of the day and leaders as such). Also in the crowd were tax collectors, harlots, and run-of-the-mill, common sinners. There was another son in the story, and I believe that Jesus was referring to the Scribes and Pharisees when he told of him. That son became jealous at the father’s attention to the prodigal, because he felt that he had been doing all the right things from the beginning. But to this very day, Jesus is looking for lost people first and foremost and He says in Luke 19:10 that the ‘son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ I’m glad He did for my sake!
On this weekend we celebrate Father’s Day, and we should certainly be thankful for our fathers. They work everyday to provide for the family, mow the yard, help with complex equations in homework, and basically provide us with a sense of security. If not, then they should. But we should also be mindful of our heavenly Father, who watches for us when we stray, and is readily and eagerly awaiting our return.
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