The Prodigal
Finally he was free. Free. Free of the endless chores. Free of getting up at the crack of dawn and working until long after the sun set. Free of milking the cows, tilling the fields, cleaning the stables, and all the other endless chores around the farm.
Turning away from the farm, he now faced towards his future. His future looked carefree. He had plenty of money in his pocket and no responsibilities. He had a clear road in front of him and not a cloud in the sky above him. In the trees by the side of the road the birds were singing sweetly, the sun was warm but too hot, and the hills were a vibrant green in the distance.
As he walked he mused about his past. He realized that he had a very fortunate childhood. His father was a wealthy man with many servants and much land and cattle. His older brother was a bit overbearing and took his responsibilities too seriously. At times he had wondered if his brother had a sense of humor at all.
He chuckled to himself as he remembered an incident were he spooked a cow while his brother was milking it. The cow was so startled that she kicked the milk bucket so hard it flew into his brothers lap spilling the milk all over him. His brother got so mad his face turned purple!
He knew he would miss his family, but he felt stifled at home. He never had time to do the things he wanted to do. There was so much work that required his attention, and so little free time. Often when he did have some free time, he was just too tired to enjoy it that all he wanted to do was sleep. That wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life. He never had the chance to go to town, let alone to the next county.
He was young, he wanted to see the world! There had to be something better on the other side of the distant hills. He did not want to spend his life as a farmer! He wanted a life of his own, be his own man, do what he wanted to do and not have someone constantly ordering him about. After all, he knew what was best for himself! He was old enough to leave home and, by golly, that is just what he did!
Resolved in his mind, the young man strode forth confidently towards the distant hills. He paid attention to the scenery as he walked. Never before had he had the opportunity to enjoy a walk. Before now, if he went anywhere off the farm it was to accomplish a task. Usually he was taking animals to market or to a neighbors farm to sell. On those occasions his attention was diverted away from the scenery and directly on the animals to ensure that they were not wondering away.
After several hours, he passed over the crown of a hill and stopped as he gazed at the display on the other side. A town. Not a small town like at home where he sold the products of his father’s farm. A real town. This town had hundreds of buildings! There all kinds of people. Short ones, tall ones, fat ones and skinny ones going to and fro through the town. The colors! Reds, browns, greens, purples, yellows. So many colors! And the noise! Oh my the noise. People were yelling, whistling, singing, talking, grunting. Oh this was exciting! It was so noisy and he wasn’t even in the town yet! He decided to sit down by the roadside and just drink in the spectacle at his feet.
After about an hour, he got up and walked down the hill towards town. As he drew closer to the city gates he became a little scared. How would he know where to go? Could he find a place to spend the night? Could he find a place to eat? Or buy clothes so he wouldn’t look like a farmer? Did they speak the same language as he did? He became more and more worried the closer he came to the gate. Would they even let him in the town?
He decided to pretend that he was an important person and tried very hard not to stare too much. As he came to the gate he started to feel a little less scared. Nobody paid attention to him. And everybody spoke the same language he did.
After he entered the town, he asked directions to the nearest inn. He was hungry and wanted something to eat. He was able to follow the directions with ease and soon had a nice warm dinner in front of him. He was also able to secure a room for the night as the landlord had a vacancy.
The following day he wandered around town and took in the sites. So much noise, so much bustle. Everyone seemed to be in such a hurry! He saw a little café and decided to take a seat near the entrance so that he can enjoy his drink and watch the towns people hustling about. While sitting there another young man sat down nearby and began to engage him in conversation. Where was he from? What did he do for a living? Where was he going? Did he like to have fun? What was his name?
Our young farmer enjoyed the conversation and began to like his interrogator also. They decided to walk around town together. The new friend started to head into town a little deeper where the shadows were a little longer and was more quiet. The young farmer began to see more women with less clothing on wandering the streets or standing by the walls of buildings. His friend introduced a few of the ladies to him and he engaged his new acquaintances in conversation.
Later his friend took him to a café where there was lots of smoke and very little light. Here the men were enjoying a card game. There was also lots of money on the table that constantly changed owners. He became very fascinated with the game and soon learned how to play. He started going to the café every night.
After a few months, he woke up one day and noticed he had run out of money. His friend didn’t come by anymore to say hi. The ladies down the street just laughed at him when he went up to make conversation. And when he went to the café to play cards, they shut the door in his face.
He had no money, no friends, no food, and no place to sleep. What was he to do? What happened to his friends? What happened to his money?
He tried to borrow some money from his friends. After all, he thought, I sure gave them plenty of money when they asked for it. But all he got in return was a cold shoulder. He tried asking for some food, but they conveniently had just run out food themselves. Something to do with the current famine they said.
It was obvious that they just didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore. So, he sat down and considered his options and the various choices.
First things first he decided. He had to have something to eat. In order to eat he had to buy the food. In order to buy the food he had to have money. And in order to have money he had to have a job. After this especially keen insight, he began looking for a job.
He went from one place to another looking for a job. What kind of experience do you have? They asked. What kind of education do you have? Can you read, write , add figures? So many questions, so few answers. He was a farmer. He had no experience as a shopkeeper or metal worker. He knew had to take care of cattle. He knew how to tell the weather, when to plow the fields or till them. but no one in town cared for that.
Finally, he was able to secure a job. If you could call it that. He had to muck out the stables and feed the hogs. Oh how low could he go. Sure he was a farmer. Sure, he knew how to clean stables and care for the animals. But pigs?! He was very glad that his father or brother couldn’t see him now.
Just thinking about them made him very homesick. All these weeks he had not even thought once about them. Now, he missed them. He missed them greatly! He determined that the first chance he got he was going to go see them.
After a few days on the job, he quickly found that he did not like his employer. He was rude, crude, and mean. He actually hit the young farmer one day when the boy did not react quickly enough to a command to do something trivial. After a week, the young man asked for his wages and was told he wasn’t going to receive any. The young man was startled at the answer. He asked why and was told that he received food and a bed and that was more than enough.
The food he was receiving was barely fit for the pigs let alone humans. And the bed? The bed consisted of a pile of straw in the stables with the animals. Our young farmer was furious. He chose at that moment to go home. He knew that his father would not treat his slaves or his servants in such a fashion. He would much rather be one of his fathers servants than work for this man anymore.
That night he left the stables and began the long journey home. The town did not appeal to his senses anymore. The noise was too raucous.
The colors were too loud and hurt the eyes.
The hills did not look so green anymore.
The birdsong no longer pleased the ears.
The road was too dusty and the sun was very hot. It took a long time to reach home.
Suddenly he heard a shout! Off in the distance a man was running towards him, shouting happily. He looked about him to see if he could find out what the man was so happy about. But he was the only one anywhere nearby. As the man got closer he could finally see that it was his own father. And he was shouting his name! Tears came into his eyes! His father was happy to see him! Him! The boy that had asked for his inheritance. Not asked, demanded. The boy that had left home saying that he could no longer live there and work like a slave. The boy that said that there had to be a better life than this. A boy that left home in a clean set of clothes with nice shoes, now coming home barefoot and in rags, smelling like a pigsty.
He was embarrassed. He was ashamed. He got on his knees and asked his father to forgive him of all the bad things he had said. To forgive him for all the things he had done to bring shame upon him.
He never got to finish his apology. His father picked him up off his knees and hugged him, kissed him, and said how happy he was to see him. Then turning towards home he shouted to his servants to bring a clean set of clothes and shoes for his boy. His father asked if he was hungry and the young man admitted that he was. His father again turned towards the house and told the servants to get some fresh meat, his boy was hungry!
Grabbing his son about the waist, he turned him towards the house and said that his mother would like to see him too.
The young man tried to tell his father that he didn’t deserve all this attention He had brought dishonor to the family. But his father would not hear of it. He said it didn’t matter. He said it was enough that you realized you had made a mistake, and you had come home where you belonged.
Home. A very popular saying goes like this: Home is where the heart is. This young man, the prodigal realized that home is also a lot better than a pigsty. Or did he? Did he finally figure out that his father was more loving,
more kind,
more honest,
more trustworthy than his current friends and companions.
He came home to work for his father. He knew that his father would treat him better than the man that he had just worked for. He knew that his father would not take advantage of him, would not debase him, would not abuse him. He knew that his father would be fair. He knew that he would not receive scraps for food and vermin filled straw for a bed.
He also knew that he had a lot to apologize for. He had demanded his inheritance and then squandered it. He had dishonored his family, ridiculed all the work his father had gone to to give him a decent home, clothes, and food. He had made fun of his brother also. Yes, he had a lot to apologize for. He was just glad that he came to that realization before it was too late.
But wonder of wonders, his father did not want to hear the apology. His father did not care about the hurt done him. Or the dishonor brought to the family name. No, the only thing his father cared about was that his son, who once was lost, now was home where he belonged! That is what was important to his father. His child was home! Even more amazing was that his father treated him like a son, and not as a potential servant or slave. He was being restored into the family from where he had left!
What a powerful story! What is even more powerful is that this story describes us!
We are the lost. We are the ones that have brought dishonor. We are the ones that have potentially squandered our inheritance. Yet, we can regain all that we have lost, if like the young farmer, we come to the realization that what we have thrown away is more important then the ephemeral, and often temporary, pleasures of the town.
Remember the story of Adam and Eve? There they were in a garden of plenty. It was beautiful, the temperature was just right night and day. They had all the food they could want. They were able to walk and talk with their creator at any time. Yet, one day they were willing to throw that all away just so that they could have something that was forbidden. They wanted to be "their own man." They wanted to be liberated from any restrictions. So Eve listened to what the serpent said. And what was it that the serpent said? That there was a better world out there and God was just trying to restrict her to this place and deny her the delights of the real world. She in turn convinced Adam, and so they both disbelieved God and trusted Satan. Consequently they lost their freedom. When confronted by God, what did Adam do? Like any red blooded American male, he blamed his wife. She blamed the serpent and neither one accepted responsibility for their action.
When I was a young man living with my parents, I had an aquarium. In fact, I had a couple of aquariums. I really enjoyed watching the different tropical fish. I dutifully kept it clean, made sure the temperature was just right, bought only the best type of food.
One thing I noticed though, if I took the fish out of the aquarium they didn’t live very long!
It is the same with us. If we remove ourselves from God’s environment, we too will have a short life. Adam and Eve were ejected from the Garden of Eve, and what happened to them? They became mortal. Was this what God wanted for them? No. Neither is it what He wants for us.
In the story of the Prodigal Son we see several truths and a beautiful promise. We can become sick of home, but eventually we will become homesick. The beautiful part is that we are always welcomed to come back home.
First: When we think we know better, we found out how little we do know. Let us remember what Paul said in Romans 1:22. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.
We have much to be thankful for that our Holy Father has given us. Yet, if we forget who we are (the children of God) we will squander everything away:
our eternal life
our intellect
Our spiritual life.
And like the young farmer we will become slaves. Instead of a servant of God, we will become a slave to sin. Even though we are surrounded in our Father’s love, we have a tendency to become self-indulgent, desiring sinful pleasures which in turn separates us from God. This is what happened to the young farmer.
Secondly: We must come to our senses. Let us turn to Jeremiah 17: 5
5This is what the LORD says:
"Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who depends on flesh for his strength
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
And what happened to him? He lost his money, his friends, his soul. Then he remembered!
Now let us turn to Romans 7: 24 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
The young farmer was destitute,
dejected,
deprived of food and clothing,
depressed,
and desired to go home.
He realized that Satan had been controlling him. By letting his self-indulgences get in the way of God’s grace, he allowed Satan to take over. Fortunately, he finally comprehended his error, or as the Bible says, he came to his senses. He put God back in charge of his life, he left the world of sin and headed home.
You know, sometimes we have to hit rock-bottom in our lives before we realize the error of our ways. It is a shame that it often takes severe hardship to make us mend our errors and put us back on the right path. It is hard on us when we have gotten ourselves into a hole to remember that we have got to stop digging!
Did the young farmer go home in the same mood as when he originally set out? No. Why? He was ashamed. He had been humiliated, yes, but, he was ashamed of what he had done to his father. He was going home and he resolved to do something very important. The first thing he was going to do when he got home was apologize. Secondly, he was going to let his father know that he understood that since he had squandered his inheritance, he should not be taken back as an equal, but as one of his father’s servants.
But what did his father do? Before the young man could apologize, before he could request a position as a servant in his father’s home, the father kissed him! Why would his father kiss him? Because, the father had forgiven him, and welcomed him back as his son. Let us turn to Psalms 103:13 13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. Our Father loves us, he will forgive us and welcome us home just like the father in this story.
Let us turn to Isaiah 44: 22
22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me, for I have redeemed you." What love and compassion we see written here! Back in the middle ages, scribes used the quill of a feather from a goose as a writing pen. It often left large blotches of ink on the paper, so the scribe had to periodically use a blotter (a piece of waste paper or linen) to wipe up the blotch of ink so it would not ruin the document. The large spot of ink was eliminated. Just like our sins will not only be forgiven, but blotted away!
What an assurance we have here! Our Father will accept us back AND forgive us our sins!!
During the civil war Abraham Lincoln was asked how he would treat the rebellious southerners once they were defeated and brought back into the Union. Lincoln replied "as if they had never been away." Isn’t it comforting that God treats us the same way?
Another important point here in the story: The father noticed the boy a long way off. How? Did he have exceptional vision? Was he using binoculars or a telescope? No. Despite the interval of time. Despite the fact that he thought his son dead. He was still looking for him. Every day, he would take time away from his chores around the farm and look down the road hoping that he would see his son. And wonder of wonders, one day he did!
When we are separated from God, it is as if we are dead also. But God never gives up. He is constantly looking for us, hoping that we will return home. He is waiting to greet us with a kiss.
Finally, the most important point about the father in this story. He not only greeted his son with joy, hugs, and kisses; he also welcomed him with shoes, a ring, and clean, fresh robe. Servants and slaves did not own shoes. The father, by having shoes brought to the young man, indicated that he was welcomed as his son, not as a servant. A ring symbolized wealth and authority. A ruler sealed his proclamations by placing a dab of wax on the document then impressing his ring into the wax. The father was displaying his favor upon his lost son by putting a ring on his finger. The robe wasn’t just any robe, but the finest in the house. The father was covering up his sons filthy rags with his own robe.
Imagine the joy and affection we will be greeted with when we are welcomed into heaven. Our filthy rags will be replaced by a bright white robe. And instead of a ring, we will receive a crown of jewels. And on our feet will be sandals of righteousness.
In just nine days we will be celebrating Christmas. On that day, we will be surrounded by friends, family, and gifts. In the air we will smell the pine tree, and the delicious aroma of Christmas dinner cooking on the stove. Most likely in the background we will hear Christmas carols playing on the radio. But will we remember what is important about this date? Will we remember the sacrifice made over two thousand years ago? The sacrifice made to save a rebellious, or should I say, prodigal, people.
And just what does prodigal mean? A prodigal is a person that is rebellious, wasteful, reckless, extravagant, unrestrained, uncontrolled, ungrateful, unappreciative, insensitive, self-absorbed, sinful. Does this not describe us at times? Do we need to hit bottom before we come to our senses?
Back in the 50’s Marlon Brando starred in a movie called "The Wild One." In the movie he is asked, "What are you rebelling against?" He replied, "Whaddaya got?"
Are you rebelling? If you are, what are you rebelling against? A restricted lifestyle? I remember as a teenager, being very upset with my parents because I couldn’t go the dances at the local high school. I couldn’t go to the movies with my friends. I couldn’t go to the beach on Saturday. There was a whole lot of things I couldn’t do. Needless to say many times I tried to rebel against their authority. Notice, I said tried! Now here I am telling my children what they shouldn’t be doing on the Sabbath! But now I know why they shouldn’t. And hopefully one day they will too.
Despite the ungrateful and self-absorbed people Christ ran into here on earth, he still loved everyone. He tried to tell them what they were doing wrong with their lives and what kind of father waited in heaven for them. Did they get the story? Unfortunately very few understood the meaning behind the parable.
In the story of the Prodigal Son, the young man was saved. Saved from sin. He came to his senses and repented. By repenting, he changed his attitude and thus changed his lifestyle. He returned home into the waiting arms of a loving father. He was hugged and kissed like the long lost son he was. He was given new clothes, shoes, and a ring. And then he was treated to a feast held in celebration of his return.
All this will be ours too one day.
All we have to do is come to our senses.
