The Way of Self Discovery

^{The Prodigal Son}

^{Luke 15:11-20a}

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

This is the story of the younger brother and lost son. When most people read or hear the parable of the prodigal son taught, they think of the younger first son in the story. They read the younger son asking for his part of his dad's wealth and read as he runs off and spends it all. Everyone reads this parable and thinks that this son is the main focus of the story. But this part of the story is only the first half of the story. The older brother and other lost son is the focus and character of the second half of the parable, which we will look at tomorrow night. First lets discover a few things about this lost younger son.

So the younger son goes to the father and ask for his share of the wealth. He is simply asking his father to tear his life apart so he could get what he wants now. This son is full of disrespect and is only seeing the father as a way to his desires and wants. The younger son wants to be in control and demands what he wants right now and to take total control of what he thinks is his. He does not like to take orders and follow the rules and wants to discover what is fun and what freedom is outside of the rules and codes from his dad's house. This younger son is set for a life of self-discovery and only cares about what makes him feel good and gives him freedom. This younger son humiliates his father and family and becomes self-indulgent and self centered. This son thinks that the only way to salvation is freedom and controlling his life himself away from the father and the father's house. The younger son wanted to be in position to tell the father what he wanted him to do, which was give him what he felt deserved. Simply put, the younger son wanted to be his own savior.

How many times are we like the younger son? We think that freedom and a life that we can control is the way to live. How many times do we want to control our own lives and take the reigns on what will happen next? How many times do we think romance, money, sex, entertainment, success, and self awareness is the way to find happiness and the way to freedom? I discover and think that most times we are just like the younger son in the way we act, think, and live. We forget that God is our loving Father and that everything we have is His. We forget that God loves us and wants whats best for us and will give us the true freedom we need. Many times we think like the younger son and think we can be our own savior when in reality the only Savior we need is from our perfect Father. I think we are more like the younger son than we think we are. So next time you read this parable, realize that we are just like the younger son many times and see how he responds and do likewise.