the prodigal son {part 3}

Now this shows how we tend to make the worst of everything
and to paint the picture in the darkest colors, which is not doing
as we would have others do to us, nor as our heavenly Father does to us.
~ Matthew Henry

The prodigal son experienced true humility that led him back home and his father extended true forgiveness, but the story doesn’t end “happily ever after” at that point.

Instead we have the elder brother. The good son. The one who Matthew Henry says, “represents those who are really good and never went astray, who—by comparison—need no repentance.”

The elder son was out in the field when his father and brother reconciled. Luke 15:25 says, “. . . when he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.” And he became angry and refused to go in {verse 28}.

“This shows us a common fault,” Henry notes. And he has these two important points:

1. In people’s families. Those who have always been a comfort to their parents think they should have a monopoly of their parents’ favors, and they tend to be too sharp toward those who have disobeyed.
2. In God’s family. Those who are comparatively innocent seldom know how to be compassionate toward those who are clearly penitents.

We read in Luke that the father went out to him and “pleaded with him.” But he answered his father, “Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.”

According to Henry, “It is too common for those who are better than their neighbors to boast about it.” He goes on to say, “Those who have served God for a long time and have been kept from gross sins have a great deal to be humbly thankful for, but nothing to proudly boast about . . . Some good people tend to be caught up in this fault; they look down on those who have not kept their reputation as clean as they have, even when those who have soiled themselves in this way have given good evidence of their repentance and reformation . . . We have too high an opinion of ourselves if we cannot find it in our hearts to receive those whom God has received.”

Henry continues, “If we are true believers, all that God is and all that he has are ours, and if others come to be true believers, all that he is and all that he has are theirs too, and yet we have no less.”

The parable in Luke ends with the father assuring his oldest son, “You are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

Oh how I wish there were more to the story!! I want to know if the oldest son embraced his brother. If his heart softened. If they had a “happily ever after!”

Know what? I have to believe that’s exactly what happened. It may be no use to speculate, but it makes my heart happy to think they did get their happily ever after.

When those brothers saw each other the first time, I can’t help but think the youngest brother, full of remorse, newly redeemed, and humbled to the bone, made a huge impact on his older brother.

And with a father who, by the way, should win Parent of the Year—gently, lovingly, and humbly came alongside the oldest boy to speak truth into him. He didn’t shame that boy, or pull the “parent” because-I-said-so card. Instead he gently shined truth into the situation.

I’ve heard this parable countless times throughout my life, but the study, research, and revelation I’ve just experienced will stay with me a lifetime.

These three men have taught me so many lessons. Who I mirror, who I’ve been, and who I want to be.

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Posted in 31 days of forgiveness, forgiveness