I assume you are familiar with Jesus’s parable of the Prodigal Son. To present it from a fresh perspective, I have summarized it below in bullet points. The parable is found in Luke 15:11–24.
- The Younger Son’s Request:
- Jesus tells a parable about a man with two sons.
- The younger son asks his father for his share of the inheritance.
- The father agrees and divides his wealth between the two sons.
- The Younger Son’s Downfall:
- The younger son takes his inheritance, travels to a distant region, and wastes his wealth on reckless living.
- A severe famine strikes, leaving the son destitute and in need.
- He hires himself out to a local citizen and is sent to feed pigs, a humiliating job.
- Starving, he wishes he could eat the food meant for the pigs, but no one helps him.
The religious authorities were disturbed by Jesus’s association with tax collectors and sinners. They would have pointed to the younger son’s behavior as a prime example of someone a religious person should have nothing to do with.
Today, I witnessed a man baptize his son, and I joined the congregation in heartfelt applause. Just a few years ago, this man hit rock bottom and turned to Jesus, allowing Him to transform his life.
His wife prayed for their son, his daughter recorded the baptism, and the leader overseeing baptisms at our church shared that this was the sixth baptism this man had performed in recent months.
How tragic it would be if hitting rock bottom meant being excluded from God’s purposes.
But that’s not the case—rock bottom often becomes the very place where God begins His work. It’s there, in our lowest moments, that we look up, turn to the Lord, and discover His help and grace.
- The Son’s Repentance:
- Coming to his senses, the younger son reflects on how his father’s hired servants have plenty of food.
- He resolves to return to his father, confess his sins, and ask to be treated as a servant, not as a son.
The turning point in the parable comes when the son “comes to his senses.” This often mirrors what happens when people hit rock bottom—they finally gain clarity and recognize their need for change.
I am grateful to say that many, when they come to their senses, choose to return to God, confess their sins, and embrace life as one of His children.
- The Father’s Compassion:
- While the son is still far off, the father sees him and is filled with compassion.
- The father runs to his son, embraces him, and kisses him.
If God were like the narrow, negative, and judgmental religious authorities—both then and now—our world would be a tragic place.
Thankfully, God is not like that. Instead, He is like the father in the parable, who ran to his son, embraced him, and celebrated his return.
The son who was lost had been found; the son who was dead was now alive.
- The Son’s Confession:
- The son admits his sin against heaven and his father, acknowledging his unworthiness to be called a son.
- The Father’s Celebration:
- The father orders his servants to:
- Bring the best robe, a ring, and sandals for his son.
- Prepare a feast with the fatted calf to celebrate.
- The father declares that his son, who was once dead and lost, is now alive and found.
- The father orders his servants to:
The Parable’s Lessons
One of the key lessons from this parable is that condemnation is ineffective. When we condemn others, even when their behavior is wrong, we create a barrier that must be overcome.
Instead of condemning, we should follow Jesus’s example: sit down with someone, share a meal, show them acceptance, and provide a pathway or bridge to lead them from where they are to where God wants them to be.
The question we must ask ourselves is this: Do we want to build barriers, or do we want to build bridges? This perspective is crucial as we reflect on how we respond to people and their actions.
When the father baptized his son yesterday, I joined the congregation in a joyful ovation. Some stood to their feet to praise God for His work in their lives.
In some churches, giving a standing ovation at a baptism might seem irreverent or out of place. However, the father in the parable exemplifies someone who joyfully celebrates the return of a lost child.
Whether we stand and applaud or celebrate in another way, we would do well to remember this example and rejoice every time someone moves from being lost to being found.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Robson, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this parable on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling YouTube channel.
Real Voices 