Living a 220 life

The Prodigal Son (Part 1 of 4)

May 5, 2010 on 9:29 pm | In Lordship, repentance | 1 Comment

Most of you have probably heard the parable of the prodigal son. Unfortunately, most of you have probably focused on only one of the characters in the story. As I was reading the parable in my quiet time a few days ago, the Lord took me on a journey in which He revealed 4 distinct characters involved in the story with 4 very special lessons. As an outpour of these lessons I’ll be putting 4 seperate posts on the blog; one for each character. We’ll begin with the younger son.

The younger son is typically the son referred to as the prodigal son in the parable and is the one who goes off and spends everything he has. We first see the younger son in Luke 15:12 when he is asking the father for his inheritence now. Understand, for him to ask such a request is incredibly rude and disrespectful to the father. The younger son is in essence saying, “I only want the material things you can offer me. I wish you were dead now so I could have my inheritence.” Culturally speaking, a son who would make such a request during Jesus’ time would probably have been disowned by the father and cut off from any possible inheritence. This obviously doesn’t happen in the story though.

The younger son is given his portion of the inheritence and he departs to a far away land where he lives a lavish life of sin and spends everything he’s been given. Once he’s expended all of his resources, the younger son begins to feel the pain and hunger. In Luke 15:17 we read, “But when he came to himself…”. Folks, the younger son hit rock bottom and then had a realization. It took him loosing all he had before he realized that being with his father was better than all the lavish living he could do. The son decides to go back to his father’s house and plead with him, to allow him to be but a servant in his father’s house. He understands that being even a servant in his father’s house is better than the sin on his own.

The son heads back home but before he can begin pleading with his father he is accepted back into the house as the son he is. The father won’t allow him to be a servant because he maintains him as his son. What amazing grace the father gives the younger son. My friends, the younger son represents one of two ways we rebel against the father. The younger son represents the open disobedience to the father. The younger son represents those of us who wish to waste the Lord’s gifts as we pursue the carnal pleasures of the world.

Friends, are you living your life simply for your own pleasure? Do you seek only those things that make you ‘happy‘? What is more important to you, your own pleasure and happiness or God’s Word enacted in your life? Would you rather be in God’s presence or would you rather live a lavish life of debauchery and sin? Do you love the Father for who He is or do you only want Him for what He can give you? Are you asking Him for your inheritance now? Friends, this is a question we MUST meditate on because all too often we’re actually seeking Him only for His resources and not for His relationship.

If you’re currently living in that far away land, wasting all the Father’s resources, I beg you, turn and run to the Father. He’s waiting for you with open arms and desires to return you to your position as His son or daughter. You haven’t sinned to greatly…you can’t out sin His Grace. Turn today and run back to your Father. He loves you and wants to be in a relationship with you. AMEN!