The Prodigal (Luke 15)

“Then He said: ‘A certain man has two sons. And 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.

And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.

But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.

Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

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!

I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”

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. And 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.”

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. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” And they began to be merry.

Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.
And he said to him, “Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.”

But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.
So 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. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.”

And he said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It 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.”’ ” **Bold emphasis is mine.

In prayer this morning, God brought this scripture to my mind. I began to meditate on it. We all know the many teachings on the prodigal and his brother. We know about the falling away and restoration of the prodigal as well as the bitterness of his brother. Something that struck me this morning is that:

1. The father divided unto THEM his livelihood. This means that the father not only gave the prodigal son his inheritance, he also gave the older brother his inheritance.

What the Holy Spirit spoke to me through this is that God, our Father, gives us this new life to do with it what we will. There will be some who will squander it (who may or may not return) and some who will continue to plow His field and reap His harvest.

2. “and no one gave him anything”

Let me give you a what-if scenario. What if, instead of staying about his father’s business, the older brother decided to go out and find his baby brother and bail him out of his mess? He had received his inheritance as well, to do with what he willed. What if, when the news of famine reached him, he went and found his brother and completely aborted the work of humility that the younger brother desperately needed?

What about the part that says, “and no one gave him anything”? Notice that neither the father nor the brother went after the prodigal. He HAD to go through this utter humiliation of living and eating with the swine in order to return to his father humbled.

In I Corinthians 5, Paul chastises the Corinthians for not only allowing sexual immorality in one of their own but for boasting of their tolerance towards him. Paul tells them, “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

Paul didn’t give him anything but what Christ gave the prodigal in the story, a chance to be broken for the ultimate salvation of his soul. Thankfully, because no one gave him anything or came benevolently to his rescue with soothing words, he did return to Christ later on in Paul’s epistle. Just like the prodigal.

Do we jump in and subvert the work that God Himself wants to do in people?

Notice that the father did not run after the son in his sin, but when he saw the son returning then he ran to meet him. We should know that Jesus was a very deliberate communicator. He said that He only said what He heard the Father saying. What He says is absolutely unswervingly clear. Jesus told this story deliberately, every word was what His Father says about our relationships with each other and with Him.

The Father joyfully meets those who come to Him in humility, fully realizing their sin and willingness to make it right. Even if it takes living as a servant instead of a son. This is the humility that our Father accepts.

We must not jump in and interfere when God needs to humble someone. We must wait and pray, no matter how much it hurts to watch, and allow Him to do what needs to be done. Then when they come running back we must be ready to accept them but the Father has to accept them first, through true and complete repentance.