The prodigal son

A. Luke 15:32

This chapter has three parables about the lost one. We haven’t actually faced the situations in the parable. But when we look into it, do we find any character which is similar to us.

1. Prodigal Son (v12-13) – In the Jewish law, a father with two sons gives two parts to elder son and one part to the younger one. A distant country need not be a geographical distance, but a place away from his father’s love. He repents for his mistake. He wholeheartedly seeked forgiveness. This begins a new phase in his life.
2. Elder son – 1John 2  A person who hates his brother lives in darkness. When his younger brother comes home, the elder brother is angry and upset with his dad. This character is pretty similar to our traits. He was not able to forgive his brother. This causes a negation to all his good qualities.
3. The father – The specialty of gospel of Luke is that it is not specific to Jews. It was about sinners and publicans. Father welcomes his younger son when he comes back. Though his son expected the least in his house, the father treats him like a king. He finds no difference between his younger son and his elder son. He loves them both equally. This is how God is. He will accept you if you repent. We want God to accept us when we repent. But we don’t like it when God accepts our neighbors who repent. This is a big drawback. If we are not able to love our neighbors, then it shows the smallness of our faith.
   

B. Luke 15:25

The focus here is the reaction of elder son.

You get to see two different attitudes in this parable. One is that of the father and the other is of the son. When the family is going through happiness, there is one person in the family who is unhappy and is staying outside the house.

1. Problem of communication – The elder son asks a boy what is happening in the house. He chose the wrong person to ask. He should’ve instead asked his father. This could be cos of the communication gap between him and his father. This is a common problem in our families. There is no communication between people living in the same house.
2. Problem of comparison – He compares himself with his younger brother. He tells his father you gave him everything and when he comes back, you give him more. But what did you give me? This is a common ideology in the people today. People expect to receive things.
3. Lack of acceptance – He was not able to accept the joy of others. We may share the sorrow with others, but are we able to share their joy? Instead we try to find out what he did to receive this joy.
4. Lack of identity – He couldn’t understand what he has. His father says, “whatever I have is yours”. He thought he lost everything when the younger son comes.
   

Our problem is

- What am I not?
- When compared to others, what don’t I have?

We should understand the duty of a father/mother/son/daughter. When we understand this, we will be happier.