The Prodigal Son

When people hear the Bible, they immediately envision a book with an extensive list of rules numbered 1-100,000 from Genesis to Revelation. Many believe the Bible to be a book that you must sit at the table to be forced to read till death do us apart. Almost like a married couple who had the happily ever after moment or the sugar rush feeling during the honeymoon phase until they returned home, got to know each other every day, and it was nothing but boredom, frustration, and annoyance between the two. In fact, many of us have been raised that way or raised your children that way. There was no real dialogue about who God is, just an expectancy of obeying Him without personally coming to know Him.

Many think the Bible was given to us against our own will, as if it is a do or die. That’s truly how some atheists feel. They feel as though they were put here out of their own will and left to figure life out on their own or else, they’re forced into the stupidity and fallen nature of this world as if someone has put a gun to their head and threatened to pull the trigger unless they do what the person ask. To comfort our rebellious ways, we avoid the principles of God to prove a point, as if we can do bad all by ourselves, eventually leading us into ruin.

The prodigal son comes to mind. He honestly thought that he could do bad all by himself. He originally lived on a farm with his brother, father, and his father’s workers. All his life, his father taught him and his brother to take care of themselves and their job. He raised them very well. One day, the prodigal son had a dream to be outside of all he has ever known, the farm. He was very curious and adventurous. He wanted to visit the city and spend life to himself. His father had been saving money for both of his sons as their inheritance. This inheritance was saved for their future, just like we have what is known to be a retirement plan, or 401k today.

The prodigal son asked for his inheritance early so that he could chase his dreams. Although he had the desires that everyone desires, his mindset or motives were not on the right page. His desires were selfish. He followed his heart and chased the lifestyle of the world. He wanted all eyes on him, he wanted everyone to know that he was smart, handsome, and rich but he did not apply those principles to his life. He carried the image, but he did not put his intelligence, wealth, and appearance to use. Instead, he was foolish. He wasted his money on everything his eyes landed on, he gave up his inexpensive mule for the finest horse in town, he expected everyone to come to his presence all because he had money. All he cared about was the attention his looks, intelligence, and money could bring him; he forgot all that his father had taught him.

He soon ran out of money and was now bankrupt. His foolishness eventually led him to the lowest place of his life. After he was being careless with his money, he eventually realized that he did not have enough money to live, let alone put food in his stomach. He realized that in that moment he had to settle for less, he had to go around begging for money and food to eat which eventually led him to get a job feeding the pigs. He was so hungry he longed to eat the food that pigs were only meant to eat because no one would feed him.

“And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.” Luke 15:16

While at the lowest place of his life, he came to his senses. He remembered his father and what he does for his servants. His father made sure to always feed his servants and give them a place to sleep. The prodigal son was so full of shame and guilt because he was sitting in a pig pen while his father already had a place for him to eat and sleep. He realized that he sinned against God and his father all for a lifestyle the world portrays to be fun and the ‘best life’. He was so ashamed he feared going home and facing his father’s negligence or anger. He returned home playing the scenario over and over in his head on his walk there, only imagining how things would turn out to be, and expecting his father to be angry at him or shame him for coming back home empty handed.

The beautiful but most surprising part about this story is that the father saw his son from afar, ran to him, embraced him with joy and love instead. The father immediately dressed him in the finest clothes, shoes, and expensive jewelry. He ordered the servants to cook the juiciest and fattened calf to prepare for a feast and celebrated his son returning home. He could care less about where his son was and the foolishness he had done, he was just happy that his son came home safe and unharmed. He didn’t even allow the son to speak, the father’s love over powered his guilt and shame.

This beautiful story is in the Bible. The same Bible that people paint to be only a law book, a murder weapon, or even a fairytale that seems unreal. Jesus, the living Son of God told that story to the sinners including the Pharisees who thought they were far from sin but, full of pride they couldn’t see their own sin. They didn’t know God just like this world misunderstands Him. They were in no better predicament than the sinners, and they were supposed to be the ones to represent God.

Jesus told the story of the prodigal son because he wanted people to know His Father, God. God represents the father who cared about his son coming back home. He doesn’t care about what you’ve done, the foolishness, or the sin you’ve committed because He knows He can deliver you from it all in a moment and as time grows. He’s just ready to celebrate you giving your life to Him, even the angels in Heaven rejoice for one sinner who gives their life to Christ.  He wants that Father and son/daughter bond. He wants to protect you and affirm and be gentle with you but also encourage you to walk on this earth as bold as a lion because He knows how snake like this world is. He wants you to save the story you were building up in your head on your way to Him for the people who were in the same predicament as you because that’s a part of your calling: a lost rebellious sinner who was full of guilt and shame until you were found by your Father. He wants you to feel accepted as His son, no longer an orphan, fatherless in this lost, broken world. Many people in the world misunderstands Him and the Bible, that is the written testimonial of God and His people.

God is bigger than the Bible, far beyond what our eyes can see. He is not a Bible thumper who uses the Bible to attack who you are. He does not have to because He is the Truth and does not have to prove Himself. The Bible immediately clashes with our humanistic ways and transforms the way we think because it shows us how foolish humanity is, how we missed the signs of being with the wrong people, how we have opportunity even in our downfall, how there is light no matter how deep we are in the pit of darkness and how much we need Wisdom, a King, and a Savior that is outside of this twisted world that is based on a BIG lie. The truth is we just hate to admit it and we’re all secretly trying to find someone who can relate to us because when someone can relate to us, we can listen and having that listening ear takes the guilt or shame away. That perfect person we’re searching for who has all the answers and ears to listen is God. He sent His Son to this earth, to be born of a virgin as a human being who could relate to us while also relating to God. He was the only one who was 100% human and 100% God and took on the sins of the world to save us from eternal death in torment and hell.  And it’s only those who have faith to believe in such a shocking truth that will be saved. God did something no man could do, that’s why it’s hard to believe.

“The bible is the complete word of God for us, but it does not claim to be a total description of what God is like or a total record of everything God does (see John 21:25)” – Richard Merrit

We’re no better than the prodigal son, who goes out into the world dodging the right way to live and the correction of God, and even the correction from our parents He has blessed us with. We prefer to have a taste of the world ourselves, spend money foolishly, demand the attention of everyone, chase after fame and fortune, exalt our beauty and wisdom that’s not even based on the truth, because that’s what this world is. A world that stays in darkness trying it’s best to avoid the light because it’s too full of shame and guilt to admit to God that it needs Him. And that’s only because the view of God makes Him out to be the bad guy or the villain. There’s only one person who disguises himself to be an angel of light, and that’s the devil himself who has influence and control over this world.

God’s word accepts man as the liar, cheater, prostitute, murderer, thief, sex addict they are and lead them to live a life full of integrity based on His divine principles and commandments even in a sick and broken world. Why break or tear a man down when the world has already done that to him? God is not looking to destroy you or put you in hell, He wants to build and restore you into the person He designed you to be. Our pride just does not want to open the Bible and relate to the broken people inside of it who chased after God’s heart even in sin. The same sin that pretends to be our friend and comforter but, is stabbing us in the back and leading us to death NOT God, because He is the lover of our soul, He is the LIFE far from death. God is NOT the world, and the world is FAR from God because of pride, the deadliest sin of all.