We find the story of the Prodigal Son recorded in Luke 15:11-32. In this parable, Jesus taught us a story about forgiveness and repentance. It is such an encouraging tale as well! Knowing that God looks for the return of sinners like a father looking for the return of a son who has wandered off. The love our father has for us is so amazing and unfathomable!
There is another side of this story, however, which doesn't usually get more thought. In verses 25-32, Jesus tells about the older son's response to the return of his brother. What was his reaction? Was the older son pleased? On the contrary, the older son was very angry at his father for accepting his brother, and he wouldn't even enter the house! When the father came out, the older son tells him of his frustration. He tells his father how he has SLAVED (the original word actually is the word for a slave's labor) for him over the years. The brother even seems to be jealous and thinks the father should not have received his brother back. His father tries to calm him down and help him see the reason that they should be happy: his brother was dead and still lives, he was lost but has been found!
The most interesting thing in this parable for me is how Jesus did not finish the story. We do not know what the older son said or did next, and we don't know if he listened to his father. This, I think, was intentional. As Christians, we are the older son in the parable. How should we respond if someone wanders away, then comes back? Should we reject them and cast them out? The father in the parable, representing our Father, accepted the wayward son and welcomed him back without any question! How can we be so foolish and let our silly feelings and opinions get in the way of someone who is lost returning to the flock?
So, what is the point of all this? We all were at one point the younger son, returning to our father, and he accepted us. Let us remember that we all were saved by grace, and that grace is UNDESERVED. Let us not look down on others who the father is willing to accept. If he will accept them, why shouldn't we?
Don't we have an amazing God?
