Luke tells the story of three men who loved deeply. One son who loved only himself; another son who loved others conditionally; and the father who loved unconditionally and selflessly. The story of the prodical son is a parable about a father and his two sons. It is woven together with many threads of love. The youngest son’s desire for worldly possessions and titles revealed his selfish love. His fleshly desires drove his thoughts and his choices. His love was selfish, and his choices followed what he thought would satisfy him, without regard to the consequences following. Eventually, the consequences did come, but fortunately his final choices allowed him to experience love in a way he never knew.
The oldest son was also selfish. His pride was revealed through his selfish love. He took pride in himself for doing what was right. While his actions were righteous, his heart was not. Our actions eventually expose the purity of our heart. This son loved his father, but his love was conditional. He was jealous of his brother and unwilling to love and forgive. The eldest brother forfeited the love, forgiveness, and grace that the father was offering. He chose to compare one sin against the other instead of choosing to offer love, grace, and mercy regardless of worthiness.
The father loved his sons from the beginning and would love them forever. The younger son eventually chose to accept the love and forgiveness of his father, and their relationship was restored. The eldest son chose to love himself, and therefore blocked the growth of any relationship with his father.
It’s important to see how the father loved. He loved the youngest enough to let him go; he loved him enough to watch for his return; and he loved him enough to forgive and accept him just because he was his. The father’s love represents the love offered to us from our heavenly Father. This unconditional love is available to us even though we mess up on all levels—some not as deep, others deeper. Our Father is not just waiting for us, He’s watching for us. He is not standing there with arms crossed, waiting to hear the appropriate thing from us. He is standing there with open arms, ready to fill every hole in our heart. The holes of loneliness, disappointment, and unworthiness Satan attempts to pry open are intended to be filled by God and God alone. Luke 15:17 tells us the younger son “came to his senses,” and that opened doors for things to change and life to be different.
Through the circumstances of his life, the younger son gained an understanding and gratefulness he had never known. In Luke 15:21, the son finally recognized he had misplaced his love. His repentant heart sent him home, and he made the choice to love his father and God no matter the circumstances—even if that meant he had to remain a servant. But the father’s love shifted the son’s focus from his own feelings and onto the grace, mercy, acceptance, and love of his father. Each one of us will love and worship someone or something. We were made to love in Christ’s likeness. We must choose very carefully what or to whom we give our hearts.
The younger son made the choice to return, not knowing how his father would respond. Now think about the way the father welcomed his son. The son returned, his head hung low, very low. But when the father saw him, he ran to meet and hug his son. When you hug and are being hugged, your face points upward—upward to the Father, upward to reconciliation, and upward to forgiveness.
When a child comes to an adult and is sad, the adult might respond by putting a hand under the child’s chin and raising up their head. The adult’s action tells the child that they are valued; they alone have the adult’s attention.
When we stop to think about it, we begin to realize that God loves us just like the father in the story. He watches for our attention and desires our heart. He is the missing part who will complete us. This son realized he had choices. While some things were choices he made, like taking the money; others were choices made for him, like suffering because of the famine that caused his final destitute state. How he responded was his choice in every situation. He chose to seek the father in the end. He chose what was best. He received the forgiveness he sought—and so much more. The father had always loved him unconditionally, but now the son was at a place where he could see the love and receive it. The father lavished the son with the finest of things celebrating his return.
As my sister likes to say, “God showed up and showed off!” He is waiting to give us His blessings—and they will always far surpass what we can imagine.
