Repentance—Rescued from Selfishness
What you will find in examining this story of the “prodigal son” is that the young man’s father actually let him go with an abundance of resources, knowing the hedonistic character of his son was to live it up. Let’s assume that this father knew his son well enough to know that letting his son leave home with lots of money and possessions to trade for a good time was dangerous. It must have been with a great deal of concern that he let him go. Perhaps this father had an idea that his son was going down the wrong track and that a train wreck was inevitable. Like most fathers, this one let him go to live the life he chose for himself.
The young man in this story is lost in selfishness. He has tanked his values and morality for the rewards of pleasure, inconsiderate of the risk of severe consequences. According to the account that Jesus spoke of, this young man took the resources given him by his father and lived high on the hog for some time. The young man lost everything. He lost his friends, whether they were good for him or not. When they no longer had use for him they left him to fend for himself. He likely lost his home and lived on the street. He became famished with hunger, starving for something to eat.
At this point, the man humbled himself in order to be rescued. Was he sorry for his mistakes? What we can know for certain was that he had deep regret concerning the weight of his circumstances caving in on him. He had the choice to remain in the severity of his circumstances until he was overwhelmed to death, or to turn away from the lifestyle resulting in his current dire situation and seek rescue. The turning away from an unhealthy, destructive lifestyle in the direction of the One who can help is in fact repentance, regardless of the motive.
Redemption—Reconciliation through the Savior
No doubt the prodigal son understood that he had rejected his father, betrayed his confidence, and fully realized the shame of his behavior having turned his back on his relationship with his father. It was not at all in arrogance in the face of his reality that he went back. Quite the contrary, it was in his humiliation in the reality of his desperation that he went back. He knew that seeing his father’s disappointment and personal pain would be very difficult for him. Imagine the young man’s surprise and emotion when…”while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.”
This young man’s father forgave him immediately, expressing mercy with hugs and kisses, thrilled that his son returned home. There is not included in the story conditions for mercy toward the son, nor were there questions about his motives for returning home. It is safe to assume that even if the father knew that his son’s motivation for returning home was to be fed to survive another day, that this loving father would have shown mercy and celebrated his son’s return without a second thought. The father reconciled with his son and welcomed him back home with the intention of pardoning his debt so he can have a fresh start at a new life.
In our selfish sin we have fallen out of right relationship with God and the consequence of that is condemnation to us all. Yet Jesus tells this beautiful story of repentance of the wayward son being reconciled back into relationship with his father. What we will now discover is the rest of the story between the father and his son. The fact is that while the young man was, for all practical purposes, dead in the world. While in grave condition he struggled to turn back toward home seeking rescue and refuge. Not only did his father run to meet him but… “said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him.'” Luke 15:22
Regeneration (Renewal)—Rebirth into New Life
The most wonderful aspect to this story is the faithful and gracious response of the young man’s father. We know that there is a condition of submission in play because when the son left the care of his dad, he was allowed to choose, to fail, and to suffer miserably in his addictive condition. We have the choice to submit to the one with the compassion to forgive, or choose to go our own way. Should this son leave again to try and make it on his own, his father would let him go again. But today is today, and today his son has returned home and that is all that matters.
Upon arriving, the father immediately had his servants bring his son the best robe. The best robe in this story represents the robe of righteousness. The father was committed to helping in his son’s recovery. The son was lost in his own choices and behavior. He was dead in his shame. His father expressed compassionate mercy, becoming reconciled with his son by covering him with his own righteousness. In other words, it was the goodness of the father that made his son good. The son would no longer carry the weight of his shame since his father removed it and replaced it with his goodness. The best robe of righteousness that Father God has put on us to cover our sin is His son, Jesus Christ. We wear the righteousness of Jesus when we return to our Father who is in heaven.
It is in relationship with the Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ that we are known by God as righteous, regardless of our past transgressions. We were dead in our addiction to selfish sin but have been regenerated into new life; reborn into the new life experience. It is a life that is only possible in relationship with God through our Sympathetic Savior, who according to Scripture, is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes into relationship with God except through Him (John 14:6-7) . That means that means that Jesus Christ is our access to God, requiring that we have relationship with Jesus. To some, that is elementary truth that’s been the backbone of their faith for years, but to others it is life-giving revelation that will change everything.
Recovery—Restoration into Full Inheritance
Apparently the young man traveled back home barefoot or with sandals so worn that they had become useless to him, causing injury to his feet. His father had servants put sandals on his feet. During that time in history, only permanent members of the family wore sandals, while the employees walked barefoot in the master’s house. The sandals were a symbol of affirmation that the young man was back home where he belonged. He no longer was the lost son—the dead son—but was alive. He was the found son. He was family.
The young man’s father then ordered that a ring be placed on his son’s finger. The ring was a signet ring that meant that the son was restored into the family as a full heir to his father’s resources. This is an astounding statement of a father’s love for his son—“Everything that is mine is yours, my son”. Everything that belonged to the father would once again be inherited by his son now that the son’s debt of disobedience was forgiven. This reconciliation meant that there was full recovery of relationship.
The point of this story is to recognize that Jesus is talking about our relationship with God. We are born into this world with the opportunity to submit to God in the person of Jesus Christ who has it all, and desires to show his favor on us and bless us with the riches of heaven. He wants us to be full of life. So why do we continually squander God’s best for us when we determine to live life our own way in an effort to minimize our discontent? Why do we fall prey to selfish sin, and allow it to take hold of us?
We must reach out to God who loves us more than we can know. He is compassionate, always faithful to forgive us and give us a shot at a new life through his plan of recovery, which begins by restoring us into relationship with him. Our way of thinking leads to disorder (James 3:16) and emptiness, while God’s way of recovery leads to peace and fulfillment. When we finally comprehend that letting go of our failed expectations means submitting to the will of our Sympathetic Savior Jesus Christ, we can know that he has set our captive hearts free. It is in submitting to recovery God’s way that we can finally realize freedom.
NLX 101 engages participants in the examination of this story of the relationship between a son and his father, as a metaphor for the kind of relationship God, our Heavenly Father desires to have with us—with them. Questions are asked that speak to the issue of what they may feel they have squandered and wasted over the years that they feel can never be recovered. The lessons gets into feelings of shame and unworthiness, helping them to process the formula for a second chance for a healthy and productive life; no matter what they have done; no matter who they have hurt; and no matter how they have been hurt.