The Parable of the Prodigal Son

In today’s blog post we will learn the parable of the prodigal son. Lord Jesus Christ tells that a man had two sons. The younger son asks his father to give him his share of the property. Then his father did the same. He gave the share of the property that belonged to his younger son to him. Then after some time, the younger son collected all his wealth and went to a far-away country.

And going there, he squandered all his wealth in immorality, such as eating, drinking, enjoying luxuries, and keeping bad company. One day, when there was a famine in this country, the Bible tells us that he became poor. He did not use the wealth he had received properly. He made wrong friends who were with him only as long as he had money.

Even today, we see that people ask those who have money, “How are you?” No one would like to make friendship with a poor person because they do not have money or property, and their standard is not equal to other people.

The Bible also tells us that riches have many friends, but a poor man’s friends leave him. The same thing happened with this prodigal son; as long as he had money, he had friends, but as soon as he ran out of money, no one was there to help him in times of famine. That as long as you had a lot of money and were living a luxurious life, you would have had many friends.

And as soon as some calamity befell you and you slowly lost everything, many of your friends would have left you as well. Now they will neither come to your house nor call you to ask about your well-being. So, dears, I tell you that as long as you have money, people will ask you, “How are you?”

As soon as his wealth was exhausted and he was left with nothing, he had to wander from door to door in the country, and everyone rejected him. Finally, he started living with a man who lived in the same country, who gave him the job of walking his pig.

Not only this, dear, instead of giving him food, that person told him that he would have to eat the same food that the pig eats. That is, he asked him to eat the beans that the pig ate to fill his stomach. He remained in this condition for some time. And then after some time, he remembered that even the servants working in his father’s house get much better food than this.

Now here I want to tell you something, dear. He never remembered his father’s house until there was famine in the country, and he had to eat with pigs. This famine brought blessings in his life because, during this famine, he was forced to learn that the condition of servants in his father’s house was much better, and they had no shortage of food.

Likewise, dear ones, until we have everything in sufficient quantity and the best of everything, we do not understand its value, and until we do not face any problem or trouble, we do not remember that loving Father. But as soon as some calamity, problem, or illness occurs, they remember God. Then they pray with fasting to get him out of the problem. Is your life such that you call upon God only after reading this?

We will see you next, dear ones, when the prodigal son realized that even the servants in his father’s house got enough food to eat, and I am dying of hunger here, so he thought in his mind, “I will go back to my father’s house and ask for forgiveness from my father. And I will say that I have sinned against heaven and against you. So please forgive me, and I will say that I am no longer worthy of being called your son, so keep me as your laborer.” Because he knew that his father was loving and kind, and he would surely forgive him.

Dear ones, it is possible that you may have wasted your life in sin and bad company. Then never think that God will not love you. Dear ones, it is possible that you may have wasted your life in sin and bad company. Then never think that God will not love you. Or how do you return to God? Remember, dear ones, that God loves you the most in this world. That’s why He gave His only Son to be sacrificed to save you. So never doubt God’s love.

Next, we see, dear ones, when the prodigal son came near his home, his father recognized his son from a distance, and ran to him and hugged him and kissed him very much. Dear ones, pay attention that after the prodigal son leaves home, his father waits for him every day and sits at the door of his house, thinking every day that perhaps today his son will return.

What a wonderful sight we see—how a father worries about his son and waits for his son to return one day. Similarly, God is waiting for every lost person in this world. He is waiting for you with open arms because He loves you immensely, more than anyone else in this world. Because we see that through this parable of the beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ told people about that eternal love.

As we can see in this illustration, when the prodigal son returned to his father’s house, not only did his father hug him, but the father also told his slaves, “Quickly, get the best clothes and dress my son in them, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. And kill a domesticated animal and cook it so that we all can rejoice because the father says that this son of mine was dead and has come to life again, was lost and has been found now.” And they started rejoicing.

Dear ones, the Bible tells us that when a sinner repents, the angels of heaven rejoice before God for that repentant sinner. Yes, dear ones, whenever a person repents of his sins, accepts his sins, and comes back to his heavenly Father, there is great joy in heaven. Because it was never God’s will that anyone should perish. God the Father wants to give everyone the power of repentance. He loves us all and is waiting for every lost soul to come back so that he can embrace him and enjoy with him till eternity.

Next, we see that when the prodigal son returns, his elder brother, instead of being happy about it, is angry with his father. Because when he comes home from his field, he hears the sound of music and dancing in the house. Then he calls his servant and asks, “What is happening?” Then the servant tells the elder son, “Your brother has come, and your father has also killed a pet animal for him.” Hearing this from his servant, he becomes angry and does not go inside the house. But when the father sees his elder son standing outside, he goes and persuades him.

But his elder son replies to him, “I have been serving you for so many years, but you never gave me even a baby goat so that I can enjoy and live peacefully with my friends. But when your son returns from his wanderings among the prostitutes, you slaughter a fatted animal for him.” Hearing this from the elder son, the father tells him, “You are always with me, and whatever is mine is yours. So be happy and rejoice, because your brother had died and is alive again; he was lost and has been found again.”

Dear ones, in this parable, we see that the son who went away, when he comes back, he is in his father’s house, but the son who did not leave his father is outside the house. Are you able to understand this difference? Let me tell you that the Lord has said that those who are first will be last, and those who are last will be first. Have you also paid attention to this fact? The elder brother does not go to look for his younger brother. He would have seen his father sitting at the door every day, but seeing his father’s condition, he never told his father that he was going to look for his younger brother.

Likewise, beloved, there are many people today who have no burden to bring people to the Lord. This story encourages us to have our hearts like those of a father who eagerly awaits his son’s return. The Bible tells us, dear ones, we have the mind of Christ. And if we have the mind of Christ, then we should have love for the lost people. If we have true faith and have true love for our heavenly Father, then we will definitely take the word of the Lord to the lost people so that they too can be saved and they too can be saved.

Dear ones, one more thing, and I want to tell you, which I have seen very well with my own eyes, that often when a new believer comes to the church, many people of the church neither talk to him with faith nor respect him. They look at him with disgust. Have you ever seen this happening in any church? But dear ones, we should not do this at all. We have to love everyone, even if he is our enemy, and win his heart with our love. Because remember, dear ones, God is love, and even today, He is loving every lost person. The person is waiting.

Finally, I want to leave a question for you people: what kind of heart do you have—like a father’s or like an elder brother’s? Do tell us your answer in the comment box. I hope, dear ones, that this parable of the prodigal son has been a blessing for you.