Christians: What is your take on the story of the Prodigal son?

Question

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%2015:%2011-32&version=51

Answer 1

I love the fact that "God runs" to us, when He sees us coming from afar off. God does not NEED any of us, but He sure does WANT us, and waits for us, and WANTS to love us. All of us have been the prodigal, but some of us have decided that living with the "pigs" and getting even less than they are, is a far, far cry from awesomeness of being a "servant" for our Heavenly Father! Who loves us More than we can know. The Older brother, our Jewish portion of the Family, while they are not wanting to "come in" & join in the "party" at least not yet...WILL one day "see" the beautiful glorious Truth, that has set us ALL free! I Thank the Lord, that even though our "Older brother" is out in the "cold" so to speak...he is out there so that we could "come home". He WILL be restored, when the timing is right! Praise the Lord God, for the faithfulness of our Jewish brothers & sisters!
I sure am GLAD that God designed this awesome plan of His! And it is truly a "Flawless Victory, in Jesus"!!

Answer 2

I do not intend to sound mean but the prodigal son was an opportunist. I mean the fact that he realized that his father's servants were in a better condition than him, off course the smart thing to do was to go home and a beg to be a servant. That was far better than the condition he was in. Enough said i truly think that many of us Christians are serving God for what he can afford us rather than through love and loyalty. but even at this point God is still willing to accept us anyway, because the truth is, many of us cant do any better.

Where the older son was concerned, he did what any natural man would-become angry and jeolous. All he wanted was a thank you from his father-that he deserved by the way. If you had a brother or a sister that causes your parents nothing but pain, run away and came home looking for a fortune, he was not there when your dad was sick and needed comfort, in fact he left him high and dry., Wouldnt you be angry to see your father treating him better than you when he returned? Moreover, the Bible did say that he divided to them all his portion which would suggest that the father was actually giving the younger son what rightfully belonged to the older one. I would be mad too, afterall i am human!

Then i guess the older son would represent Israel in a sense that the gentiles is now partaking of what was rightfully theirs. Thats my take, but it doesnt have to be right. I just wanted to show something different from the traditional teachings of this parable.

God bless

Answer 3

The picture of the father receiving the son back into relationship is a picture of how we should respond to repentant sinners as well (1 John 4:20-21, Luke 17:3, Galatians 6:1, James 5:19-20). “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). We are included in that all and we must remember that “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” apart from Christ (Isaiah 64:6, John 15:1-6). It is only by God’s grace that we are saved, not by works that we may boast of some goodness that we perceive to be our own (Ephesians 2:9, Romans 9:16, Psalm 51:5). That is the core message of the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

Answer 4

Verse one of the chapter sets the stage.. It says, " Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him."
Luke 15:1
A returning to the Father. The Jews still call it Teshuvah.
When one turns back and goes the other direction; implying they were in fellowship to begin with.

You see, every story in this chapter deals with something lost and returned, whether it be property or failed relationship.
We could also see a parallel between Jew and Gentile here.

Parables similar to this are frequent among the Jewish writers. The whole flock of mankind, both Jews and Gentiles, belongs unto the Divine Shepherd.

Sorry, I know you asked about the Prodigal parable only. I like to look at the text expositionally.

Answer 5

This is one of my favorite parables which Jesus told, as He was teaching His disciples. There is so much in this story.

THE YOUNGER SON:
1) the youthful lusts of the younger son; the measure to which his unhealthy desire took him
2) the depths to which he had to go to become aware that what he had at home with his family was part of his inheritance which he was missing
3) his decision to humble himself and return to his father's house and even take the place of a servant (which should have been his attitude in the first place)

THE FATHER:
1) Honored his younger son's request (most likely knowing that he would squander the money, but also knowing that the only way the son would "be saved" was to find out for himself what the world was like)
2) He watched and waited, which is a picture of expectation . He would be ready for him when he came.
3) He was not only glad to see his son was alive, but was ready to forgive and receive him back into the family.
4) The party was a celebration of restored relationship, just like the Scripture says that there is joy in heaven over the one who repents and turns back to God.

Now, the interesting part of the story which is often missed is
THE OLDER SON:
1) There is no mention that he was in any way concerned about his younger brother while he was gone.
2) When his younger brother returns and is treated well by his father, he becomes jealous and angry. He feels that he has stayed at home and kept working. So, why didn't his father give him a party with his friends?
3) He missed two points: a) if he wanted a party, he could have asked at anytime. Why didn't he? b) Wasn't his brother's life and well-being more important than anything and worth celebrating?
4) In the end, he was just as "greedy" as his younger brother. Greed breeds jealousy. And he showed fear that his father would not treat him equally as well as his brother.

So, this parable not only deals with humbling oneself, repenting and being restored to fellowship, but it also deals with the attitudes of each of the family members. It can be a mirror for us. Which attitude do we exhibit in our relationships in our families and with others?

Answer 6

The prodigal son shows us the difference between being responsible for what Gives us and irresponsibility,and it also shows us how Gods grace is suffiencient in our weakness,and his undying Love when we return in repentance,and the fact he always takes us back regardless of what we think say or do and restores us to our rightful place in him just like his father did.

Answer 7

the place in the Bible are we instructed that the older brother murdered the greater youthful? If there's no Scripture for it, then do no longer make fake assumptions. definite, the older brother became indignant approximately his father accepting his youthful brother lower back domicile and forgiving him, yet no the place does it say he murdered him. Taking Scripture out of context and analyzing it falsely is extremely risky and happens plenty at present. however the respond is to earnings the Bible and understand what it certainly teaches. that is going to unravel an excellent variety of complication.

Answer 8

It is an illustration, a parable, of God and his forgiveness.
The Father is God, who gives his son (us) his inheritance, but the son walks away wanting to keep it for himself and no longer share and live with his father. He squanders it all before coming to the realization of how much he had, and wants it had back, and is sorry for his actions and wants forgiveness... but he is not sure if his father will take him back.
The son is destitute and returns to find his father running to him with open arms (but his brother who stayed thinks it is unfair - isn't that us?).
This is such an awesome story!! What a clear illustration of God's unconditional love and forgiveness - why else would Jesus, God himself, tell it?
You can blow it but I love you anyway and you can still gain all that I have if you come back to me.
It really is more than I can grasp but I am so grateful - thanks for the reminder!

Answer 9

I can relate to this story personally. To me it means that no matter how far I go away from God, He is always looking for me to return and when I do He comes running to me with open arms, willing to accept me back as His child. No sin is every so bad that I cannot come back home to Him.

Answer 10

That God loves us where we are at in life and always willing to forgive when we repent and come home to Him.

1 John 1:9

There is no mess we get us into that Jesus can't fix and there is no sin that He cant forgive and this has been my lifes experience even when I messed up severly.

Good question and Be encouraged E4G