A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The
emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and
justice demanded death. "But I don't ask for justice," the
mother explained. "I plead for mercy." "But your son does
not deserve mercy," Napoleon replied. "Sir," the woman
cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask
for." "Well, then," the emperor said, "I will have
mercy." And he spared the woman's son. ~Luis Palau, Experiencing God's Forgiveness, Multnomah
Press, 1984.
The parable of the
Prodigal Son is a story about God’s redemptive grace and mercy through the
perspective of the father. It was a story about a father’s unconditional
love and forgiveness towards his wayward son. It was clearly about God
seeking sinners. In Luke 15, Jesus tells about the youngest son coming to his
father to ask for his inheritance before the right time. According to the
Old Testament laws in Deuteronomy 21:17, the youngest son would only receive
one-third of the father’s inheritance.
Here’s the
scenario that may offend people hearing this story: the young son came to his
father to ask for his inheritance and it was like he was saying, “I wish you
were dead!” This was an insult to the father. In the minds of the Jewish
leaders listening, they understood that this would not have received the young
son back into the family. As a matter of fact, in the ancient Jewish
culture, he would have been disowned and would not have been allowed to return
as part of the father’s family.
The strong element
of disbelief and disappointment felt by the audience of this story often is
lost for the modern day reader. The Jewish audience might have asked how a son
can be so cruel as to ask for an inheritance before his father’s death. They
realized that money was more important to the younger son than his relationship
with his father.
After getting what
he wanted, the son left and wasted everything he received but decided to return
back home at the end. When he did, being not far off from his father’s house, his father saw the son
approaching, indicating that he had been watching for him, runs to him and
embraced him with open arms. According to Jewish tradition, the Jews considered
this highly undignified in their culture. The patriarch never ran or never made
the first move in such a situation.
The prodigal son
came back with
nothing to offer; yet his father received him with much joy and
celebration. His father showed His unconditional love and accepted him
back into the family without any interrogation and even restored him to his
former state. Looking at it from God’s perspective, the
actions of the father reflected God’s great mercy and incomprehensible grace
towards any sinner with genuine repentance from their sin and humility before a
loving God. Here are three important lessons to learn from this parable: (a) God
reaches out when sinners lose their way; (b) God responds to sinners
when they repent wholeheartedly; (c) God reveals His Divine Love when
sinners return to Him with humility.
Richard C.
Halverson summarized it this way: There is nothing you
can to do make God love you more! There is nothing you can do to make God love
you less! His love is Unconditional, Impartial, Everlasting, Infinite, Perfect!
Here’s an article in National
Geographic several years ago that provided a penetrating picture of God's
character: After a forest fire in
Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to
assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in
ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat
sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he struck
it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings.
The
loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to
the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively
knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety, but
had refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze had arrived and the heat had
scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast.
Because she had
been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live...
"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his
wings you will find refuge..." (Psalms 91:4) Being loved this much should make a difference
in your life. Remember the One who loves you and then be different because of
it.
God will never
abandon us even when we totally abandon Him and He will accept us when we
return to him again. Believe it and let others know about it!
Let us talk again!
