What shall We Do with the Prodigal?
Simple. Let him go! Is that all that simple? No! It’s the most difficult simple thing to do. Luke chapter 15 has one of the greatest stories of the courage and chivalry of a father who let his son run away . It’s not so much the story of a prodigal than the story of a father’s heart that took quite a beating.
“There was a man who had two sons.’’
They were brought up by the same father and mother in much the same way. But they turned out differently. So the parents were not to be blamed.
“The younger one said to his father: Father give me my share of the estate.”
He had reached a point where he felt he no longer needed his father. He was confident that he could lead an independent life and manage his share of the estate. Probably he just turned an energetic 21 and became an adult by the standards of the country and did not want to be ‘oppressed’ or ‘suppressed’ by parents.
“So he divided his property between them.”
No doubt his father had taught him about God, brotherly love, obedience to parents, value of money, etc. While the elder son was content to be under the father’s authority the younger sought freedom. The father did not sit down and give him a big lecture on his levity, nor did he throw up. He quietly partitioned his property. He had taught his son everything and it was upto the son to take it or leave it. There were no persuasive words or reminders of what he had taught. That did not mean he did it happily. Sure, he did it with knotted bowels. But he did it anyway.
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.”
Obviously the relationship at home was strained after the partition and the son was at the end of his tether. The father probably could not stand the selling away of family property, or the way his younger son spent his money. He might have expressed his displeasure over his wild friends. Something made the boy leave his home and country. He wanted to be out of his parents’ reach. It would have been a terrible blow to the father. Probably he felt guilty over his son’s exit; maybe his wife blamed him for driving her son away by his platitudes. Should he have been more tolerant and more loving? Try as he might, he could not accept the wild behaviour of his son at home. Probably he gave the ultimatum too. There was a calm send off.
“A distant country.”
Could his son travel safely thus far? Could he manage in the new culture and the language? Would he eat properly? Would he fall into bad company? Would he be careful about the money? How to arrange his marriage if he lived so far away? Could he not leave half his property back in case of an emergency? What about his incomplete education? Those were parental anxieties. Certainly the father kept hearing news from relatives and friends who lived there about the higgledy-piggledy situation his son was in. He was squandering away hard-earned money. He lived a wild living. He even went to prostitutes. Other information were probably that he was losing weight, was sick, friendless, penniless, and hunting for a job, was in need of clothes, etc. Sure enough there was an urge in the father’s heart to send him a cable to come home immediately; or to send a money order or an envoy to show his love or at least write a few lines that the house was always open for him. But he kept his cool. He waited for his back to be broken, not malevolently but lovingly.
“After he had spent everything there was a severe famine in that whole country and he began to be in want.”
At least now, could the father do something? Would his son, long sheltered at home, be able to survive such extreme condition? The feisty father’s heart would have trembled to get him back. But he did not give in. Could he not at least send some victuals and clothes through someone? No. He held back his urge and also his fears. He saw God’s hand at work: the God-sent famine.
‘‘So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.”
His beloved son, heir and landlord was feeding pigs! If he could send a letter to one of his friends there to give him a decent job, his friends would have obliged. He had never been ‘under’ someone except the loving father. But then he was hired by a stranger. Would he be treated well? If the father sent his visiting card, the employer would know his employee’s status and financial security. The father’s heart would have ached to write to the manager and reveal his identity and tell him to treat his son kindly and to put whatever he spent for his son on his account. No. He did not allow himself to do that.
“He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.”
The father might have received a letter like this: “Yesterday I saw your son feeding the pigs and nibbling a bit of the feed. His stomach was gone in. He was all skin and bones. Pale, gaunt and encrusted with filth, he was begging passersby for a morsel. I would have brought him home and fed him but for your strict word not to do just that. You are going too far. If you don’t do something urgently you may not see him again.”
The father appraised the condition of his son. He was anathema incarnate. Was that enough to break the father’s stubbornness? So many of his servants ate full-stomach and left over. What did he lose by getting his son back and feeding him? Let him be there at least like one of his servants. What if he died? The father stood his ground. Otherwise he would save his son’s body and lose his soul. He had the courage to sacrifice his prestige by letting his son feed the pigs. He cared the least for what others would talk about his cruel neglect. His son wanted liberty and liberty he should have. No more dependence on the father. He must earn his income, he must find his own job, he must use his own credentials, he must manage himself within his income. He walked out of the house in search of freedom. Free he should be without anything from the father. He must be totally liberated to know what the world was and how people would treat him for himself. The father was resolved.
“When he came to his senses he said : How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare and here I am starving to death!”
What brought him to his senses? His need! The need for food, clothing, shelter, love, money, respect, recognition as somebody! He had seen what freedom was. He had known how faithful friends were. He had come to know the value of money. He had come to respect labour. He had realised how much work was to be done to fill one’s stomach; that money didn’t grow on trees; that bread, butter and jam did not appear on the table just like that. “He came to his senses.” Where was he all that time? Under the vestige of the father’s shadow, money, name and identity. Now stripped of all that, he knew who he was in the world without his father. He realised his true worth as an individual, denuded of family, property and everything. That brought him to his senses.
Oh, that was terrific news to the father. The miracle had happened. Should he now run, embrace and kiss his son? Should he take the next flight? No. There was something more to be done. He must come out of his false prestige. His ego still remained like the Rock of Gibralter. All was not over yet. HE went. So HE must come. Supposing he didn’t decide to return for prestige sake? Anxiety brewed in the father’s mind. If the father booked his return ticket home, anyday his son could say, “It is you who wanted me back home” The son must come of his own accord. So he kept his anxiety at bay.
“I will set out and go back to my father and say to him : Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.” He decided to set out, to go back to his father, to confess his sin, against man and against God. True repentance ! “I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of the hired men.”
He had realised that freedom meant total freedom. No more father-son relationship. He had no claim on his father, for his love or help or whatever. He was just like a hired servant. He had nothing left over that could be called as ego. The facade had fallen.
“So he got up and went to his father.”
That’s it. That was the final act the father was waiting for. That was proof of true repentance. Oh, how much the father’s heart took. But it was worth the wait. Problems would then melt sooner than summer snow. His weight could be regained, diseases treated, a job found—all at the expense of the father’s share of the property. The father was only too willing for that loss because he was now converted. The miracle could not have happened without the final pinch.
Oh, what joy to have him back. The father’s compassion had not withered away. It was that compassion that held him back from interfering too early in God’s repentance programme for his son. It was love, but the love that longed to see the soul saved than the body nourished.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
He was choked by a rush of feeling so poignant that no words could express. His love had not changed over the years. To the world, to the son it appeared as if his love had died. But it had not. It was very much there, all the time, silently weeping, restraining, waiting to gush out at the right time.
Oh, how many prodigal sons and daughters continue to be prodigals because of “over loving” parents! Parents who go after the prodigals begging them to return, preaching sermon after sermon, giving money when they suffer need, putting in a word to friends and relatives to “be gentle with the young man” for their sake (2 Sam 18:5), sending them some clothes, clearing their debts, do not help them but hinder God. Parents, stop! Give God a chance to bring your prodigal back to his senses.
Does the Bible guarantee salvation to our children if we bring them up in godly ways? Though the Bible has many promises, yet it is up to the son or daughter to choose or reject. God will never cast away one who comes to Him. But the “coming” is up to the individual. “Each of us will give account of himself to God” (Rom 14;12).
Does the Bible guarantee that if we leave the prodigal to his own way, he will come back? No, he may or he may not. But if we try to get him back to us by our own efforts, the chances are less that he will repent than if we adopt God’s methods.
A parent who has done his duty need not feel guilty if his son or daughter rejects Christ and goes his own way. He or she stands before God as an individual, not as somebody’s son or daughter.
There are prodigals who conveniently move over to a 'near country' which is far safer for a blind jump. They enjoy the liberty with no risk, having their parents at arm's lengh for any emergency. Don't let them use you to continue their new life style. Don't let your heart melt till they are thoroughly converted. That only delays or defeats God's purposes for their lives. Far more difficult are prodigals who choose to live within and enjoy without. Parents need to wisely and gradually tighten the screws and carefully wriggle out of their clutches.
So what shall we do with the prodigal? Mrs. Billy Graham puts it in a nutshell, “Just pray for a tough hide and a tender heart!”
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, 8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
What shall We Do with the Prodigal?
Simple. Let him go! Is that all that simple? No! It’s the most difficult simple thing to do. Luke chapter 15 has one of the greatest stories of the courage and chivalry of a father who let his son run away . It’s not so much the story of a prodigal than the story of a father’s heart that took quite a beating.
“There was a man who had two sons.’’
They were brought up by the same father and mother in much the same way. But they turned out differently. So the parents were not to be blamed.
“The younger one said to his father: Father give me my share of the estate.”
He had reached a point where he felt he no longer needed his father. He was confident that he could lead an independent life and manage his share of the estate. Probably he just turned an energetic 21 and became an adult by the standards of the country and did not want to be ‘oppressed’ or ‘suppressed’ by parents.
“So he divided his property between them.”
No doubt his father had taught him about God, brotherly love, obedience to parents, value of money, etc. While the elder son was content to be under the father’s authority the younger sought freedom. The father did not sit down and give him a big lecture on his levity, nor did he throw up. He quietly partitioned his property. He had taught his son everything and it was upto the son to take it or leave it. There were no persuasive words or reminders of what he had taught. That did not mean he did it happily. Sure, he did it with knotted bowels. But he did it anyway.
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.”
Obviously the relationship at home was strained after the partition and the son was at the end of his tether. The father probably could not stand the selling away of family property, or the way his younger son spent his money. He might have expressed his displeasure over his wild friends. Something made the boy leave his home and country. He wanted to be out of his parents’ reach. It would have been a terrible blow to the father. Probably he felt guilty over his son’s exit; maybe his wife blamed him for driving her son away by his platitudes. Should he have been more tolerant and more loving? Try as he might, he could not accept the wild behaviour of his son at home. Probably he gave the ultimatum too. There was a calm send off.
“A distant country.”
Could his son travel safely thus far? Could he manage in the new culture and the language? Would he eat properly? Would he fall into bad company? Would he be careful about the money? How to arrange his marriage if he lived so far away? Could he not leave half his property back in case of an emergency? What about his incomplete education? Those were parental anxieties. Certainly the father kept hearing news from relatives and friends who lived there about the higgledy-piggledy situation his son was in. He was squandering away hard-earned money. He lived a wild living. He even went to prostitutes. Other information were probably that he was losing weight, was sick, friendless, penniless, and hunting for a job, was in need of clothes, etc. Sure enough there was an urge in the father’s heart to send him a cable to come home immediately; or to send a money order or an envoy to show his love or at least write a few lines that the house was always open for him. But he kept his cool. He waited for his back to be broken, not malevolently but lovingly.
“After he had spent everything there was a severe famine in that whole country and he began to be in want.”
At least now, could the father do something? Would his son, long sheltered at home, be able to survive such extreme condition? The feisty father’s heart would have trembled to get him back. But he did not give in. Could he not at least send some victuals and clothes through someone? No. He held back his urge and also his fears. He saw God’s hand at work: the God-sent famine.
‘‘So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.”
His beloved son, heir and landlord was feeding pigs! If he could send a letter to one of his friends there to give him a decent job, his friends would have obliged. He had never been ‘under’ someone except the loving father. But then he was hired by a stranger. Would he be treated well? If the father sent his visiting card, the employer would know his employee’s status and financial security. The father’s heart would have ached to write to the manager and reveal his identity and tell him to treat his son kindly and to put whatever he spent for his son on his account. No. He did not allow himself to do that.
“He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.”
The father might have received a letter like this: “Yesterday I saw your son feeding the pigs and nibbling a bit of the feed. His stomach was gone in. He was all skin and bones. Pale, gaunt and encrusted with filth, he was begging passersby for a morsel. I would have brought him home and fed him but for your strict word not to do just that. You are going too far. If you don’t do something urgently you may not see him again.”
The father appraised the condition of his son. He was anathema incarnate. Was that enough to break the father’s stubbornness? So many of his servants ate full-stomach and left over. What did he lose by getting his son back and feeding him? Let him be there at least like one of his servants. What if he died? The father stood his ground. Otherwise he would save his son’s body and lose his soul. He had the courage to sacrifice his prestige by letting his son feed the pigs. He cared the least for what others would talk about his cruel neglect. His son wanted liberty and liberty he should have. No more dependence on the father. He must earn his income, he must find his own job, he must use his own credentials, he must manage himself within his income. He walked out of the house in search of freedom. Free he should be without anything from the father. He must be totally liberated to know what the world was and how people would treat him for himself. The father was resolved.
“When he came to his senses he said : How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare and here I am starving to death!”
What brought him to his senses? His need! The need for food, clothing, shelter, love, money, respect, recognition as somebody! He had seen what freedom was. He had known how faithful friends were. He had come to know the value of money. He had come to respect labour. He had realised how much work was to be done to fill one’s stomach; that money didn’t grow on trees; that bread, butter and jam did not appear on the table just like that. “He came to his senses.” Where was he all that time? Under the vestige of the father’s shadow, money, name and identity. Now stripped of all that, he knew who he was in the world without his father. He realised his true worth as an individual, denuded of family, property and everything. That brought him to his senses.
Oh, that was terrific news to the father. The miracle had happened. Should he now run, embrace and kiss his son? Should he take the next flight? No. There was something more to be done. He must come out of his false prestige. His ego still remained like the Rock of Gibralter. All was not over yet. HE went. So HE must come. Supposing he didn’t decide to return for prestige sake? Anxiety brewed in the father’s mind. If the father booked his return ticket home, anyday his son could say, “It is you who wanted me back home” The son must come of his own accord. So he kept his anxiety at bay.
“I will set out and go back to my father and say to him : Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.” He decided to set out, to go back to his father, to confess his sin, against man and against God. True repentance ! “I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of the hired men.”
He had realised that freedom meant total freedom. No more father-son relationship. He had no claim on his father, for his love or help or whatever. He was just like a hired servant. He had nothing left over that could be called as ego. The facade had fallen.
“So he got up and went to his father.”
That’s it. That was the final act the father was waiting for. That was proof of true repentance. Oh, how much the father’s heart took. But it was worth the wait. Problems would then melt sooner than summer snow. His weight could be regained, diseases treated, a job found—all at the expense of the father’s share of the property. The father was only too willing for that loss because he was now converted. The miracle could not have happened without the final pinch.
Oh, what joy to have him back. The father’s compassion had not withered away. It was that compassion that held him back from interfering too early in God’s repentance programme for his son. It was love, but the love that longed to see the soul saved than the body nourished.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
He was choked by a rush of feeling so poignant that no words could express. His love had not changed over the years. To the world, to the son it appeared as if his love had died. But it had not. It was very much there, all the time, silently weeping, restraining, waiting to gush out at the right time.
Oh, how many prodigal sons and daughters continue to be prodigals because of “over loving” parents! Parents who go after the prodigals begging them to return, preaching sermon after sermon, giving money when they suffer need, putting in a word to friends and relatives to “be gentle with the young man” for their sake (2 Sam 18:5), sending them some clothes, clearing their debts, do not help them but hinder God. Parents, stop! Give God a chance to bring your prodigal back to his senses.
Does the Bible guarantee salvation to our children if we bring them up in godly ways? Though the Bible has many promises, yet it is up to the son or daughter to choose or reject. God will never cast away one who comes to Him. But the “coming” is up to the individual. “Each of us will give account of himself to God” (Rom 14;12).
Does the Bible guarantee that if we leave the prodigal to his own way, he will come back? No, he may or he may not. But if we try to get him back to us by our own efforts, the chances are less that he will repent than if we adopt God’s methods.
A parent who has done his duty need not feel guilty if his son or daughter rejects Christ and goes his own way. He or she stands before God as an individual, not as somebody’s son or daughter.
There are prodigals who conveniently move over to a 'near country' which is far safer for a blind jump. They enjoy the liberty with no risk, having their parents at arm's lengh for any emergency. Don't let them use you to continue their new life style. Don't let your heart melt till they are thoroughly converted. That only delays or defeats God's purposes for their lives. Far more difficult are prodigals who choose to live within and enjoy without. Parents need to wisely and gradually tighten the screws and carefully wriggle out of their clutches.
So what shall we do with the prodigal? Mrs. Billy Graham puts it in a nutshell, “Just pray for a tough hide and a tender heart!”
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, Mob:8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
