In Luke 15:11-32 Jesus tells this story to the people he was with about a man with two sons. That story, or parable, has come to be known as The Prodigal Son, or The Parable of the Lost Son, or The Parable of the Prodigal Son and His Brother…
Sometimes I think the readers and listeners of this well-known Jesus Story, focus so much on that younger, selfish and reckless child or the grumpy and/or relatable attitude problem of the eldest, that we forget that perhaps our focus is misplaced.
When we get scared or startled in the dark, the most helpful solution is not to lay perfectly still and imagine the horrible reasons we heard that sound or try to convince ourselves that the shadowy outline is NOT a person… I mean, we default to this lots, but the most helpful thing to do is to turn on the light!
To look at the problems and to focus on what needs to be changed is only useful for a short time. Then our focus needs to shift to the answer, to the new thing – even when the new thing is an unknown.
I’ve begun to call this story that Jesus shared, The Parable of the Loving Father. Because whether we find ourselves identifying with the shame and the mistakes of the younger son or the pride and self-righteousness of the eldest son, Jesus didn’t share this parable to highlight humanity’s sinfulness. I believe Jesus shared this story to shine a light on how loving and forgiving His Father truly is!
And, so, as our children head back to school this week (some of them for the first time ever!!)… as we keep them in our prayers we know that the God to whom we lift our requests for safety and fun and helpful teachers is a God Jesus described as a very loving father.
God is the one who receives us back into their arms no matter how long we’ve turned away and lived our lives independently of them. The One who reminds us that as we live our lives with them that we have access to everything – and to a beautiful relationship with our Creator!
Our God is one who’s arms are opened wide and who is ready to receive us – no matter what kind of child we may resemble most.
May all of you, especially all of you with children heading back to school, remember and know that loving embrace of God. Not only to share it with your own children… but to receive it for yourselves first!