The Parable of the Prodigal Son is way up there for me. It’s definitely in the top 5 favorite Scripture passages. It shows the amazing love God has for us; it shows how wretched we truly are; it shows the abundant life God has promised us in His house. But, the reason it makes it into the top 5 has to do with one seemingly forgettable phrase. Re-read the parable found in Luke 15:11-32:
Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. 12And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. 13And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
17“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’
20“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
25“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’
28“But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
31“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”
Here’s this son, who, in essence said ‘Hey dad. Wish you were dead so I could go ahead and have my inheritance, but you aren’t dead yet and it doesn’t seem like that will happen anytime soon. I guess what I’m trying to say is I want my inheritance now. I am tired of waiting for you to die. Thanks.’ Wow. That’s serious. Hard to believe even, but that’s what happened. Then, the son goes off and wastes his entire fortune on wild living. (I like that description.) Eventually, the son finds himself flat busted and in a terrible spot. He’s in a place where he never dreamed he would be. Now, here is my favorite part:
“But when he came to himself…”
I wonder how that happened exactly. This is how I prefer to picture it: he caught a glimpse of himself…his own face…maybe reflected in the pig slop. He saw how terrible he looked. He saw what he was doing. He literally came face to face with himself and realized what a waste he was. Whatever it was, he had a moment of clarity and realized this was not the life he was supposed to be living. The next thing he did was the only thing he could do: repent, or turn away from this terrible life and beg his Father to forgive him.
The curious thing about this Prodigal (meaning wasteful) Son is that no one said ‘Hey, what are you doing with your life? Don’t you get that you’re making some terrible decisions?’ He already knew it. He had a sober moment and said to himself ‘What am I doing?’ And, that’s exactly how it is with me. I often trade the ultimate things that God has for me for immediate gratification. The irony: I always know it’s a bad decision before I make it. How about you?
So from one Prodigal child to another: I pray that we will ‘come to ourselves’ quickly and run to our loving Father, the One who will restore us to right standing.
17“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’
20“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
25“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’
28“But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
31“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”
Here’s this son, who, in essence said ‘Hey dad. Wish you were dead so I could go ahead and have my inheritance, but you aren’t dead yet and it doesn’t seem like that will happen anytime soon. I guess what I’m trying to say is I want my inheritance now. I am tired of waiting for you to die. Thanks.’ Wow. That’s serious. Hard to believe even, but that’s what happened. Then, the son goes off and wastes his entire fortune on wild living. (I like that description.) Eventually, the son finds himself flat busted and in a terrible spot. He’s in a place where he never dreamed he would be. Now, here is my favorite part:
“But when he came to himself…”
I wonder how that happened exactly. This is how I prefer to picture it: he caught a glimpse of himself…his own face…maybe reflected in the pig slop. He saw how terrible he looked. He saw what he was doing. He literally came face to face with himself and realized what a waste he was. Whatever it was, he had a moment of clarity and realized this was not the life he was supposed to be living. The next thing he did was the only thing he could do: repent, or turn away from this terrible life and beg his Father to forgive him.
The curious thing about this Prodigal (meaning wasteful) Son is that no one said ‘Hey, what are you doing with your life? Don’t you get that you’re making some terrible decisions?’ He already knew it. He had a sober moment and said to himself ‘What am I doing?’ And, that’s exactly how it is with me. I often trade the ultimate things that God has for me for immediate gratification. The irony: I always know it’s a bad decision before I make it. How about you?
So from one Prodigal child to another: I pray that we will ‘come to ourselves’ quickly and run to our loving Father, the One who will restore us to right standing.
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