Both a blessing and a warning!
Luke 15:11-32
The Prodigal Son is
a parable Jesus uses to illustrate God's love for His creation. It is about a son who gets his father's
inheritance, and squanders it on pleasures of the flesh, and then returns
destitute to his home and is welcomed with great celebration. The Prodigal Son parable is actually about
two sons. The elder son respects and
loves his father, while the younger thinks he knows what is best for him.
I think most people
read this parable and feel that if they were to fall away from God and then
repent, they will be welcomed back into God's kingdom and everything will be
just as it was before. While I believe
it's true that God will welcome the repentant sinner back into His kingdom, the
text suggests the prodigal son would have been better off had he stayed with
his Father:
The parable begins
with both sons dwelling with the Father.
This parable does not address the person who has yet to find God or
accept Jesus. Both sons have already
done so, as evident in the fact that they are dwelling with the Father.
According to the
text in verse 12, the younger son asks for his inheritance, but it is given to
the elder son as well - Both sons are now in possession of their inheritance.
Verses 13-16
describe how the younger son squanders his inheritance - He willingly left God
and lived a life totally opposite of what he was taught.
Verses 17-19 shows
the younger son coming to his senses - He hit the bottom of the barrel, so to
speak, and had no one left to turn to except God.
Verses 20-24 details
the love the Father has for his son - God is overjoyed to see his son return
and welcomes him back into His kingdom
In verses 25-32,
attention turns to the elder son who shows jealousy toward the attention his
younger brother is getting - These verses show that we are all equally
important in God's sight. The fact that
one son stayed by God's side and the other drifted is irrelevant in God's eyes.
This is where most
people forget about the inheritance at the beginning of the parable. Keep in mind, the elder son is still in
possession of his inheritance, while the younger one no longer has his. At no point in this parable does the father
ask the elder to split his inheritance with the younger. At the end of the parable, both sons are
dwelling with their Father, but the elder still has an inheritance he can spend
wisely. All throughout the gospels,
Jesus only promises one thing for his followers: Eternal Life. Both sons have eternal life. I believe there will be rewards for us in
heaven based on how we live our lives.
This parable should be a warning to the followers of Jesus to live their
lives according to His will and not fall into destitute times. Yes, you will be forgiven. Yes, you will live with Jesus for
eternity. No, you won't have your inheritance. What exactly is my inheritance going to
be? No one knows, but you can bet it
will be out of this world!!
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