A Deeper Look At the Prodigal Son

If you believe that this story is about a son who needs to be saved, you will miss the point of Jesus’ parable. Strange as it may seem, salvation is taken for granted in this wonderful story. The truth of this story is that this father had two sons and each of them could claim an inheritance from their father.

Luke 15:11 begins by simply saying, “A certain man had two sons.” Throughout the Scriptures God’s plan is often unfolded to us by stories of two sons – Adam’s sons Cain and Abel, Abraham’s sons Isaac and Ishmael, Isaac’s sons Esau and Jacob, David’s sons Absalom and Solomon.

BOTH of the sons in the story are SAVED. They are both examples of born-again Christian believers in the family of God. They both are born with an inheritance in their father’s family. The point of the story is that Christians who already have eternal salvation can still take opposite paths in their lives. They can be like the prodigal son or they can be like the faithful son who stayed at home.

The younger son was like many believers today because he did not understand the ways of his father. This is vividly seen in the very first thing this young man said: “Father, give me….” This request concisely defines a believer looking for independence – a genuine child of God who is a give me believer. He chose to possess a part of the father’s riches rather than the loving father himself. The inescapable fact is that believers seeking self-fulfillment through independence don’t really know their Father.

Does this mean we cannot ask God for things? Certainly not. We would all have a difficult time communicating with our heavenly Father if we could not ask Him to fulfill our needs. But it is important that we not base our relationship with the Father on acquiring possessions, or even answered prayer. Many believers think, “Lord, I know you are God that you are over all things, and you are able to accomplish all things,” but deep inside they may think less of Him if they don’t get from Him what they want.

In asking for his portion of the inheritance, the son was saying two things: “My father has it all, but I want only a portion of it;” and “I need only to ask and he will give it to me.” We back God into a corner when we say, “Father, you must give me this because you said you would.” This limits Him to giving us only a portion of what is available to us.

When the son said, “Give me….” The center of his life was himself. During the times when I act as if I am separated from Christ, I want what I think will make me comfortable and happy. This younger son had not yet come to know that he was born with his father’s nature. Similarly most Christians do not comprehend that their very nature came from their heavenly Father at the time they believed. The youngest son had yet to learn (as so many Christians have yet to learn) that he had by birth all the possessions of his father.

In the temporal world, the most harmful thing a father could do is to give his sons their portions. In the spiritual realm, it is sometimes the only way for believers to learn a most difficult lesson. This lesson is that we must see the indwelling Christ as our all, otherwise what we get from God may not be the best He has to give us. I can testify that the Father often used to give me what I wanted. Often however this was not good for me or for Him. But this was for me a part of the process of growing up and learning the lifestyle of the family of God.

Positive thinking and doing may bring you what you want in you attempt at independence, but this so-called success has no relevance to spirituality. We must come to the awareness that receiving things from God is not an accurate barometer of spirituality. He will always take care of you and love you, and in time He will overwhelm your circumstances as you learn of Him. In this case, if the father had said, “You are an ignorant son, and I will not give you the inheritance to squander,” that would not have accomplished the training the son needed. The father in Luke 15 knew that the only way to train his son in the true family lifestyle was to give him what he SHOULD NOT HAVE! The son had to be broken by his circumstances. Then he would come to understand both his father and the family lifestyle.

Although it broke the father’s heart, he gave his son his request. There is a special kind of love that causes the Father to give us His children similar requests. I call it “love that hurts”. The Father does strange things in our lives out of this hurt-love. This kind of love in God is contrary to our human thinking.

This parable shows us three important things about hurt-love. First, God will give something to a believing Christian although He knows it is not best. The Scriptures say that every good and perfect gift comes from God, so we think, “”The Father would not give me something that is not good for me.” And since we are often unwilling to take God’s “No” in answer to our prayers, we press Him using His promises from Scripture. So our loving Father gives us what we ask for or allows us to taste our independence knowing we will be taught by the circumstances and situations that will come through it.

Second, the father of the prodigal son knew the best thing he could do for his son was to let him go. You may think God loves you so much that He doesn’t want you afflicted or in trouble. This is human thinking because God, in His hurt-love, follows a different path. He will let you go your own way, because this will eventually produce in you a greater love for Him.

Third, even though the father has blessed his son with the inheritance he did not send his son away. The son made that choice himself and the father’s hurt-love allowed it.

The words “give me” reveal another component of an independent leaning Christian – when the son said this, he did not consider that his father’s wealth could bless not just him but the whole world. He did not want access to his inheritance so he could help people in need. It was to be his money to do with as he pleased. He could have helped just one widow and kept the rest for himself, but even that small gesture was absent.

The center of problems with the Christian child of God is independence. Our country had one Declaration of Independence. But we Christians seem to thrive on new Declarations of Independence almost daily.

The most important possession you can have on this earth is the knowledge of who you are in union with Christ. When you ask for a portion of material goods, it is only yours as long as you can hold onto it. But your position in Christ is eternal. Like many Christians, the younger son of this rich father made a colossal mistake. If he had stayed in his father’s house in a dependent attitude, he would have enjoyed all that his father owned, not just a portion. Christians are blessed “with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

You may ask, Do you mean by just living the life of Christ, events and situations will straighten out? Absolutely. Human independence however will not accept that just by being in Christ things will straighten out. But according to the New Testament, if you do what comes naturally according to Christ’s nature in you, everything will fall into place. Even if things don’t seem to change, it won’t matter because you will be at rest in Him.

The son may have finally felt as if he had control of his own life when he took his inheritance and went into a far country. The term far country indicates three things: First, the son wanted independence from his father. Second, he wanted to make a name for himself. And third, he did not want his success attributed to his father. The far country signifies independence from God and is familiar territory to every believer.

If you feel that you don’t have your independent life or work under control, cheer up; you are on the right road. God never intended that you figure it all out. He intended that you trust Jesus Christ, that you grow in dependence upon Him. God’s plan was not that you just seek Jesus in an emergency. If there are loose ends in your life, then thank the Father. The loose ends are there to bring you to the end of yourself when you can thank the Father that you are joined in union with Christ and that He is your only life.

The only lasting happiness is when a believer knows who he is to his Father. Everything else is fleeting; it will pass. The son in this parable came to that knowledge and the father recognized it. So there was great joy and rejoicing in the father’s house “…And they began to be merry” (Luke 15:24).

My prayer for everyone who reads this parable is that the Holy Spirit will reveal the Son who lives within you as your only life. The younger son did not need salvation – he already had it and didn’t know it. He needed recognition of who he was: the son of a rich man with abundant riches and grace.

The sooner you seek and trust Jesus in you, not the things you can do for Him or even the worldly things He can do for you, the sooner you will enter into the rest which God has for you.

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