The Prodigal FATHER

I’m going to commit one of the cardinal sins of writing and start off with a definition. The free dictionary defines prodigal this way:

1. recklessly wasteful or extravagant, as in disposing of goods or money
2. lavish in giving or yielding prodigal of compliments

I think we get words like prodigious, product, productive, from the same root. We’ve heard the term ‘prodigal son’ so many times associated with sin, with squandering wealth and opportunity, that we equate it more with evil than with extravagance. The real root of the word tends toward the idea of extravagance.
So, let’s take a different look at the father in the story. When the son asks for his inheritance, does the father say, “well, I’ll give you a week’s worth of money to go out and try living on your own.” He gives him everything, knowing how badly he would misuse it. When the son returns, he doesn’t say, “get him inside and give him some of that soup.” No, he runs out, he falls on his neck, he calls for rings and robes and sandals and fattened calves and feasts. When the older son complains, he says, “everything I have is yours.” This is a man of extravagance; the prodigal son is much like his father. He has added wisdom to his extravagance, but he is not a cheap, stingy, withholding man. This is a man who is generous, who throws parties, who is passionate and unafraid to show it.

More than that, this is a man who loves deeply. He obviously mourns the absence of his son, and is overwhelmed with relief at his return. He is not even trying to be reserved about celebrating his son’s return. He spots him coming while he is still a long way off, which means he must have been in the habit of going out and looking. He is therefore obsessive about him, and while for all practical purposes it might seem his son was dead, he did not give up hope.

Shall we expect less extravagance from our Father in heaven? Jesus is teaching us, this is what He is like! It was not enough that He made the whole earth, He made an entire universe which is so vast that the earth is not even a speck of dust in comparison. He made the earth itself drip with opulent life and provision, and made us to be vastly intelligent and mysterious creatures. In fact, Solomon says in Ecclesiastes that He has set eternity our hearts. This is not a stingy God.

We can expect extravagance and blessing and quick passionate forgiveness and abundant provision when dealing with Him. We have a rich father who loves to give and who loves to throw big parties and who loves us very very deeply and isn’t afraid to show it. As Paul says,

“He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us.” Ephesians 1:5-8, NASB.

We tend to see the message of grace, of mercy and forgiveness, as stemming from a holy and vengeful God whose thirst for retributive justice must be satisfied. Since it deals with our sin, we see the heart of the gospel as a laser-like focus at our shame, and a way to appease God’s ever-present wrath and anger at us. Our conscience constantly bears witness that no matter how far along we go in our transformation, there always seems to be something more that is the object of the holy gaze of God’s indignant attention.
However, in actual fact, the message stems from the heart of a prodigal father, a father who does all things from a kind intention. He gave us redemption through Christ’s blood, He rescued us from our own determination and inbred destructiveness, because of kind intention. Look at how Paul talks about the Father’s grace! It is glorious. It is praiseworthy. It is not withheld, it is freely bestowed. Grace is something which is a treasure, bestowed from the storehouse of His riches. Grace is considered something which He lavishes upon us! These are all things which point to a prodigal Father, a Father who loves and gives prodigiously. When we come to Him, when we pray to Him, when we ask Him for mercy or provision or comfort or wisdom or help, we can expect it to be given lavishly and with kind intent, because He is only wrathful because His kindness and lavish grace is hindered by disbelief. His intent is kindness and lavish grace, all the time!

There was a time when it was considered bad parenting to lavish praise on a child. The idea was that it was manipulative and would spoil them, teaching them to seek affirmation for every little normal thing that they should do as a consequence of normal character. With god the Father, we see Him over and over publicly declaring the praise of His son:

“and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased.”” Luke 3:22, NASB.

Our Father in heaven is like this father of the wayward son – lavish, reckless even, deeply passionate and loving, extravagant. He easily and quickly forgives, and seeks the restoration of our dignity and position as honored sons and daughters when we leave that place. He operates always from kind intention, and is lavish with us in everything pertaining to life and godliness. This is the real message of the gospel – restoration to the prodigal Father!