You might be surprised to learn that the story of the Prodigal Son is not so much about a runaway son, but rather an unrestrained and unbounded father. His heart was broken when his beloved child ran away, yet he still welcomed him back with open arms – demonstrating the true meaning of love and forgiveness.
On this episode of Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah reveals the real lesson to be learned from this well-known parable is about God’s unconditional love. It’s meant to prove to us that even when we don’t love God the way we should, He doesn’t stop loving us.
The Prodigal
‘It turns out that the father and not the son is the main character in this story,’ says David. ‘It is the father who loves the prodigal, even when his son is not loving him. It is the father who waits patiently for his son to return home. It is the father who initiates the process of forgiveness.’
Luke is the only one of the four gospel writers to record this story. As we read the verses, we see the picture of God’s love as seen in the heart of this human father. Our Heavenly Father is wounded by our sin and rejection. But notice, neither the father of the Prodigal nor our Father in heaven will stop loving us.
‘You may think you have sinned away your place in God’s heart and in His family,’ says David. ‘But it cannot happen. He never will stop loving you any more than the father of the prodigal would stop loving his son. God loves you when you’re walking away. God loves you, even when you are wounding His heart.’
God Releases Us
The father in this story knew that his son was headed for disappointment and failure. But in spite of his own personal agony and rejected love, he allowed him to leave. Just as the father in the parable was willing to endure pain rather than disown his son, so our Heavenly Father sometimes releases us to reject his love and pursue our own self-will.
Sometimes there is nothing as powerful as experiencing the full on consequences of one’s own sinful choices. But God loves you when you’re wasting your life. Luke tells us that the prodigal gathers his things and cashes in his inheritance. But then, as it always does, his money ran out. The text says he had spent it all.
‘The prodigal now found himself without funds, without friends and without food,’ says David. ‘At this moment, we are told, the prodigal began to think about home. He hadn’t thought about home when he was spending all this money recklessly.’
Turning Back to God
As the story continues, we see that God also loves us when we’re working to come back. Jesus says something that David believes is the turning point in the story. He says that at that moment of his greatest misery, the prodigal came to himself.
‘I’ve always thought that was the moment when he turned around to come back to God,’ says David. ‘But watch carefully what really is happening. Is there anything in the text about his being sorry for what he has done? Does he even once acknowledge that he has broken the heart of his father and humiliated him in front of his community? Is there one shred of evidence in this story that the prodigal repented while he was in the far country?’
Jesus says the father recognised his son when he was still a long way off. We are not told how long he had been gone, but what we do know is that every day this father waited. The Bible says that when his father saw him, he had compassion and he went to him and kissed him.
‘You can see in the backdrop a loving Heavenly Father,’ says David. ‘That’s what the story is all about. That’s what this parable was meant to teach us.’
