Experience Can Be a Hard Teacher

Luke 15:1-31 I believe that the primary purpose of the parable of the lost son was to contrast God’s treatment of and the attitude toward the lost and “undesirable” people with that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. The pharisees were able to identify with the first two parables. It was important to find lost sheep and lost coins and there was celebration over finding them but celebrating over reclaiming a person who had messed up his life — that was a whole different ball game. The third parable, the parable of the lost son, brings home Jesus whole point. The father represents God, the older brother the pharisees, and the younger brother is the one over whom the conflicting attitude exists. The father loves both sons equally, but he shows his love differently because the needs of each is different. The desire of the father is that the family be together in one accord. The older son is a faithful hard worker who is loyal the family. The younger son has no desire to be with the family; his eye is on the world and its goods. Holding him captive will never make him a member of the family. The father loves him enough to give him his share of the inheritance and let him go. I’m sure the father was praying that the son would wake up before he destroyed himself. Jesus never said how long it took for the son to wake up and decide that he wasn’t where he wanted to be. That he needed to go home. Maybe because short or long that is the place we all need to come to — It’s time to go home!