The parable of the Prodigal Son has so much meaning it’s difficult to focus on just one. But there is one aspect of this story that always sits in the back of my mind every time I read or hear it. The father was obviously a man of means. I mean he had one of his sons demand his share of his inheritance and the father still had enough wealth to provide for his family and manage his operations. Not to mention, when the prodigal son returned home there was still plenty for everyone.
The thing that strikes me is this - the father was a man of great means, and he obviously he loved his son very much. In my imagination I can’t keep from thinking the father kept tabs on his son the entire time he was away from home. I think he knew exactly where he was the whole time. From the parties, to the carousing with so-called friends, to living with the pigs, I believe the father knew where the son was constantly. He obviously had the means to know. He could have had a servant observe him or he could have just paid someone to give him regular updates.
He could have grabbed the son by the scruff of the neck at any time and said “Enough! You need to come home now!!”. It’s what the son deserved. But the father didn’t do that. He allowed his son to make up his own mind. And when the son decided for himself that he needed to go home, the father was waiting for him with open arms. If the father had yanked his son out of the situation, I think he knew the son would be right back in in the same mud hole the first chance he got. But, no – the father knew the choice had to be the son’s if it were to mean anything.
Isn’t that so true of our heavenly Father? He loves us so much that he is willing to allow us to wallow in the world’s filth until we finally realize what he has known all along. Why? Because if he were to take us out of the world against our will, we would not possibly begin to appreciate what he has done for us. We would soon be blowing our inheritance again because we wouldn’t know any better. But since he gives us our choice, we are finally able to see what he wants for us. Then the choice we make for our lives finally lines up with what he know is best for us.
© Gregory M. Watson, 2008 (see Copyright Page for details)
