PrintI've been thinking a lot lately about the character we simply know as "the prodigal son", one of the key characters in the story that Jesus told to illustrate the grace of the Father. It is a beautiful story of alienation followed by reconciliation. The lad's excursion into that "distant land" followed by his return and restoration to full sonship has touched the hearts of countless millions since it first left the lips of Jesus.
I wonder, however, what would have happened if the young man had a 'relapse' and went back to that distant land for, say, a reunion with some of those he met on his first sojourn in that place of self-centred living? If I understand the story correctly, the father did not make the boy a hired servant (as the boy had requested) but made him a son in full standing. The ring, the robe and the sandals were symbols of full restoration to sonship.
What if he relapsed? It's both an unanswerable and maybe an unnecessary question but I find it tantalizes me. What if family history repeated itself and that young son again took his newly restored position and its wealth and again headed out to that distant place? Imagine the whole original drama being repeated.
What if it repeated itself more than once? What if the father had to endure the pain of seeing his young son walking away again and again but then see him returning when his money and friends deserted him?
I have considered at length the gracious response of the father on the first occasion. But I wonder if there would be a limit to his grace? Would the father welcome him home a second time with the same enthusiasm as he displayed on that first return? Would there be a second 'welcome home' party? What about the third time? Might the father treat him along the lines, "Three strikes and you're out!!" I wonder about such things.
Since Jesus taught that we are to forgive others "seventy times seven" (Matt.18/22), I think I rightly conclude that He would practice what He preached. There would be no end to forgiveness and restoration. I can almost hear my critics saying,
"What is the matter with you? Unconditional love and acceptance will only enable and empower the boy's repetitive, deviant behaviour! No, what he needs is discipline - a few good laws or family regulations that have dire consequences if transgressed".
My response would be, "So you would turn the younger son into a replica of his older brother? No, thanks! One of those rule-orientated, hyper-critical, judgmental, loveless children is more than enough!"
Anyway, all that is very speculative. So why do I wander this mental path extrapolating a story of Jesus as though it was incomplete? I suspect the reason is because there have been times and seasons in my relationship with my heavenly father when, having initially 'come home' from that far away place and been restored to full sonship (i.e. the conversion or new birth experience), I have had some kind of relapse and found myself again on the borders of that "far country".
More about this next time.
