1) characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure: LAVISH (a prodigal feast) (prodigal outlays for her clothes)
2) recklessly spendthrift (the prodigal prince)
3) yielding abundantly : LUXURIANT —often used with of (nature has been so prodigal of her bounty — H. T. Buckle)
I have been thinking about the “prodigal son”, the story Jesus told about the son who demanded his inheritance and then went out and spent it on raucous living. Eventually, the son saw the foolishness of his ways and returned home, much to the delight of the father. His brother, on the other hand, wasn’t quite so excited to see him.
We have probably all heard this story used in sermons many times. I think the emphasis is usually on the prodigal, repentant son; because that is us. But I have been thinking about the brother lately. So please indulge me when I go beyond the story and write in a few things that aren’t there, but might be.
I’m guessing the faithful son in the story was not yet a parent, or he would totally understand his father’s perspective, and he might even feel the same way about his brother’s return. It’s also possible that the son who stayed behind secretly wanted to leave the family business and go out on his own, but didn’t do it either because he lacked the strength or because he loved his father and after seeing what his brother’s actions did to his father, he couldn’t bear to do the same. Either way, I think he lacked an appreciation for the relationship that he had with his father, the brick-by-brick foundation he had been laying in the relationship with his father.
But there is also the possibility that the son watched his father mourn the loss of his prodigal son. Perhaps he watched him every day, as he scanned the horizon looking for his son to return. Perhaps his heart ached as his father, in a moment of emotional weakness, expressed his frustration about his lost son, or his anger about his foolishness, or his hurt over the separation, the lack of communication. “He doesn’t call. He doesn’t write. I only hear how he is through the grapevine.” It’s possible that the son who watched the agony of his father, helpless to ease the pain in his heart, built up a little anger of his own for his wayward brother.
It’s possible that when the brother returned, and the faithful son saw how happy it made his father, even though he knew this was right, held a little fear in his heart that his brother would take off yet again, and he would have to watch , helpless, as his father mourned yet again. I have always felt that the brother who stayed behind acted childishly and selfishly. But maybe his concern, deep down, was that his father would be hurt again.
In the Old Testament, we see that each tribe was given a portion of the Promised Land as their inheritance except for the tribe of Levi, who was given a small area in each of the other tribes, because the Levites were the priests, and they needed to be among the people in order to minister to them. But god did not consider that they had been short-changed. He said of it, “I am their inheritance.” That is, they had a special relationship with God, a special closeness, a special understanding that God did not give to the ordinary man. God gave them the BEST; He gave them himself. This is the inheritance God gave each of us when He came to earth in the person of Jesus to live among us, to show us Himself in human form. This is the gift God gave us when He left his Holy Spirit to dwell among us.
I am the prodigal. I have wasted the inheritance God gave me here on earth, and I have returned to God begging to be a servant in his kingdom, but he has restored my position as an heir. All God wants of me is that I walk beside him, daily, intimately. But how many days do I go off and do my own thing? I am guilty of not valuing the relationship God wants to have with me. How do I hurt him when I wander off on some rabbit trail? I always come back, and I always will come back, but what have I missed that God wanted to show me on our walk, or what story did I not hear, or what dance did I miss out on while I was out off on my own?
I don’t want to miss any more. I want to sit at His feet, hear every word, dance every dance and hear every story.
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