law frowned at this, muttering, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So Jesus told
them this parable:
Jesus continued, “There was a man with two sons. The younger said to his father, ‘Give me
my share of the estate.’ So the father divided his property between them.
Some days later, the younger son gathered all his belongings and started off for a distant land,
where he squandered his wealth in loose living. Havingspent everything, he was hard pressed
when a severe famine broke out in that land.
Finally coming to his senses, he set off for his father’s house.
He was still a long way off, when his father caught sight of him. His father was so deeply moved
with compassion that he ran out to meet him, threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.
The son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you. I no longer deserve to be
called your son.’
The elder son became angry, and refused to go in.
The father said, ‘My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But this brother
of yours was dead, and has come back to life; he was lost, and is found. And for that we had to
rejoice and be glad.’”
Reflect
The parable of the prodigal son is one of the most beloved stories in all of Scripture. I think that
one reason people love it so much is that we can see pieces of ourselves in each of the
characters.
We have all been the sinful younger son, who rejected his father’s love (essentially wishing that
he was dead) and lived a life of selfishness, only to realize the futility of that way of living. Like the
younger son, we need to repent and seek forgiveness.
We have all been like the older son, resentful of the special attention and advantages that others
receive. We become angry that our efforts are not recognized and rewarded while what we
see as lesser efforts by others are praised. We continue to struggle against jealousy, purifying our
motives for doing good things.
We have all been like the father, waiting to offer forgiveness to those who have hurt us, watching
for them to come home so that we can enfold them in love.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2023