Jesus’ stories have a way of drawing us in, captivating us, forcing us to identify with one of the characters. We find ourselves in His stories about irresponsible young women or hard-working day labourers. We’re attracted to their side of the story because we can relate so well to their plight.
One of Jesus’ most famous stories begins this way: “There was a man who had two sons” (Luke 15:11). Of course, this is widely called “The Parable of the Prodigal Son.”
You know how it goes. The younger son comes to his father and says, “I want what’s coming to me after you die, but I don’t want to wait that long. Can I have it now so I can leave and get on with my life?”
Astonishingly, the father agrees to this presumptuous plan. The son leaves, goes out into the wide world and wastes all his money. He hits rock bottom and is forced to get a job feeding pigs (which would have been repulsive to a good Jewish boy). It is there in the pigpen that he remembers the generosity of his father, and he begins to formulate a plan. He’ll return as a hired hand to the family estate. Perhaps he can make enough money to repay what he owes to his father.
He makes the long journey home, rehearsing his speech. But while he is still a long way off, his father sees him and takes off in a mad dash to meet him. Before the son can get his speech out of his mouth, the father calls the servants to bring some decent clothes for the boy and orders a giant block party to be thrown in his honour.
Meanwhile, the older brother is at work out in the fields. He hears the singing and the dancing and wonders what’s happening. He starts toward the big house and asks the first servant he finds, “What’s going on?”
“Your brother’s back and your dad’s throwing a huge party.”
The older brother is infuriated and refuses to go in to the party, and his father comes to find out what the problem is.
“This son of yours comes back and this is how you treat him?” (Note that he doesn’t say “this brother of mine.”) “All this time I’ve been working like a slave for you, and you never threw me a party!”
The father is distraught. He has just received one son back, but now he’s alienated from the other. Why can’t the big brother be happy for his younger sibling?
And that’s where the story ends.
There are many people who have written about this famous story, there are lots of great books and articles you can read about it. But for today, think about this. Jesus’ stories have a way of drawing you in. You find yourself identifying with one character or another, sort of siding with one or the other.
You might identify with the prodigal son. You spent years in the distant land, far away from the God who loves you. When you finally returned, you were overwhelmed at how ready He was to accept you — not to the status of a hired hand but to the full status of a beloved son or daughter. You’ll be forever grateful for His generosity and grace.
Or you might identify with the older brother. You spent years doing the right thing even when others didn’t. You may find yourself wondering if serving God actually pays dividends. You’re reluctant to receive your prodigal brother back into the family.
Or maybe you know from personal experience that it’s hard to be the prodigal and return home without turning into the older brother. In a strange twist of irony, you find it difficult to accept others the way you, yourself, have been accepted.
But this is the point of the story. Regardless of whether you identify more readily with the prodigal or the older brother, you are called to become like the father.
Jesus did stuff like this a lot. He left this story unfinished.
You get to decide how it ends.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I thank You for the wonderful parables and stories You told that force me to wrestle with the issues of life that really matter. Your stories grip my mind and my imagination, and as I begin to understand what You are saying, I am penetrated by the barb of truth that reveals my true condition. Just when I realise that I am the prodigal son, I discover the self-righteous older brother in me as well. But I know that the person You most want me to identify with is the loving father. For You are the One who waited for Your son to return, who felt compassion for him when You saw him at a distance, who ran and embraced him and kissed him and celebrated his return. Because that is who You are, I can trust You, love You and return to You whenever I stray from Your gracious embrace.
In Jesus’s name, Amen
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