In the gospel according to Luke, chapter 15, Jesus told a parable that has become the most famous. In scholarly circles, both secular and Christian, the story of the prodigal son is considered to be the all-time greatest short story ever told. To share part of my musings, I want to draw attention to something that this son's father did not do.
But first, I will summarize the story in my own words: A father had two sons. The younger asked for his estate, then gathered all his stuff, and embarked on a selfish journey into a distant country where he squandered his estate by living in debauchery. After he had literally spent everything and now was totally broke, the Providential timing was such that a severe famine occurred in that country. Penniless, the son humbly hired himself out to be a low wage feeder of field pigs. By this point, the son was so utterly bereft that he longed to eat pig slop because his employer was not paying him or providing him any sustenance.
In that dire set of circumstances, the son came to his senses. Suddenly the son realized that his father’s hired laborers had more than enough to eat. What was this son doing dying of hunger? The son said to himself, "I will set out and go to my father, and will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Please treat me as one of your hired laborers.'"
So the son set out and eventually made his way back to his father. Even though the son was still a long way off – a mile? two miles? – his father saw him. It's as if his father had climbed up into a tower to gaze into the horizon every single day to see if, maybe today, his beloved son would come home. Upon seeing the silhouette of his long lost son, the father felt compassion and scurried down the ladder and sprinted to his son and embraced him and kissed him. The son, still self-absorbed, in response said to his dad as if reading an inner script that made him deaf to his father's kisses, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son."
The hearing father, who was not deaf, kindly said to his slaves, "Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet, and bring the fattened calf, and slaughter it. Let us eat the best of food! And celebrate together! For this son of mine was dead and has come to life again! My precious son was lost, but now has been found! And they began to celebrate. The food did more than the kisses. The delicacies, the food, effectively expressed – in the son's language – that the father knew his son's need and was delighted to fulfill his son's desire.
What the father did not do was chase after the son when the son first left in rebellion. The father made no attempt to micromanage his son. The father did not reprove him. The father did not rebuke him. The father did not attempt to teach his son a lesson. The father stayed home. The father restrained himself and humbled himself and grieved. To say the same thing differently, the father made no attempt to enlighten the darkened heart of his prodigal son. The father did not throw his pearls to swine.
This Christmas season 2024, some of us ache because our loved one has traipsed off far into a distant country. We desperately miss our family member, our friend, our past soul mate. But that loved one is lost. That loved one is gone. That loved one is dead. That loved one does not miss us. That loved one does not understand our kisses.
Let us learn from the prodigal son's father. Let us hope, not in our loved one, but rather in the Providence of God. Let us hope in God. Hope in God does not disappoint. (Romans 5:5)
If any of you are interested, I will be teaching a course starting in January with one of the most loving individuals I have ever met, Nancy Grisham, Ph.D. The course is, Fulfilling The Great Commission. In it, we will talk about the importance of discipleship, the need we have for spiritual formation, and the mandate that is ours to express the love of God to deaf and wayward people who do not understand what it means to be hugged and kissed. Special emphasis will be made on how to conduct ourselves toward family members who do not follow Christ, as of yet. I hope many of you can come.
Meantime, may all of us in Christ stay awakened to Christ's love. May we realize that we already have all that the Father has shared with us, which is everything, including Himself.
댓글