The Parable of the Prodigal Son has always been one of my favorite biblical parables, possibly because it's one I can easily relate to. Many people, though, I think take the wrong lesson from the parable, or they simply don't understand it. My theory on this is very similar to the story of the threstrals in Harry Potter. Let us digress for a moment.......
In the wizarding world of Harry Potter, threstrals are a type of winged horse that are only visible to people who have seen death. Similarly, I think the only people who truly understand the Parable of the Prodigal Son are people who have turned away from God's Grace and later come back to it.
Now, getting back to the Prodigal Son.....
For anyone who has not read the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is the final parable in a trilogy that talks about loss and redemption, with the previous two parables being the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Parable of the Lost Coin.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son talks about a young man who asks his father for his inheritance early, so that he may travel the world. The father gives in and gives the son his share of the father's inheritance and the son departs his father's house. The father has one other son who stays behind to continue helping his father with the duties of the farm and household. As the departed son travels the world, he squanders the money on prostitutes, wine, and all sorts of frivolities until finally he finds himself with no money left. He ends up having to take a job as a pig herder, which is the lowest of lows. As he minds the pigs he realizes that he is jealous of them for the riches they have, even as pigs, that he does not - such as food and shelter. He develops a plan to go back to his father, tell his father that his son is no longer worthy to be called his son, and beg for a place as one of the servants because even as a servant in his father's house he would have more than he has now. The son makes his way back home and the father sees him coming up the way and runs to him, embraces him, and rejoices that he has returned. The father orders a fattened calf to be slaughtered and a feast held in celebration of the joyous occasion of his son's return. Now, while all of this is going on, the son who had stayed behind with the father grows angry. He never left his father, he stayed to do his father's bidding, even while his brother went out and partied all of his inheritance away. The father tells the son who stayed that he should not be angry but rejoice, for his brother has returned from the dead.
This parable has many lessons for those that really pay attention, and the more subtle lessons come from the stories of the two sons. There is more here than a father who is relieved to have his child home safe and sound, and there's more here than a son who is jealous that his brother got to travel and party on their dad's dime and then gets welcomed back home like a celebrity. No, there is so much more.
The story of the son who left is easy to decipher. The son took his father for granted, wanted to try to make it on his own in the world, took his share of his inheritance (not bothering to wait until his father had died), and set out to enjoy the world. It didn't take him long to realize that he couldn't survive on his own. He became lower than the lowest animal and had nothing to sustain him. He missed his father's love, his warm house, and the nourishment his father provided him. He decides to go home and offer to become a lowly servant just to be able to get back a small portion of what he had before. The father welcomes his son back with open arms, grateful that the son would rather be a servant with him than alone in the world.
The story of the son who stayed is a little more difficult. This son stayed behind, got no celebration or thanks, but continued his duties faithfully, even up to the point when his brother returned and got a hero's welcome. Why did his father welcome his brother back so quickly and so warmly? Had he not been the one who stayed while his brother spent their father's money on wine and women? Truth is, he didn't stay because he loved his father any more than his brother did. He stayed because it was what was expected of him. So, the son who stayed did so out of duty, not out of love.
This is where the parable gets truly dynamic and mind-boggling to those who have never been on the outside looking in at God's good graces. God does not want us to love Him because we're supposed to....He wants us to love Him because we want to. It's the whole reason behind free will. God gave us free-thinking minds, without which we would be nothing more than puppets. No, He gave us a choice - a choice between good and evil, between loving Him or not. The Parable of the Prodigal Son is God telling us that He wants us to appreciate Him for who He is and what He does for us, not simply because our parents or our church tells us we should. The wonderful thing is, and this is what the parable is all about, God forgives us if we stray. If we tell our Heavenly Father that we would rather give it a go on our own and sample the riches of the world without Him, He will be there waiting for us when we epically fail and come home begging just to be let in as a lowly servant, much less one of His children. The parable is about choosing to love Him, and understanding that if we mess up along the way He will be there to welcome us back no matter what.
As for me personally, I will admit that I am a prodigal daughter. I have left my Father's house before. I have tried life on my own, and I'll tell you a little secret.....there's no place like home. And if you're wandering in the cold, come home. Father is waiting with open arms to greet you.
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