Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Youth is to be with the creator
The father
said, “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.”
The passage of the prodigal son is one of the most familiar
and preached passages of the bible. The younger son squandered his father’s
wealth and brought disrepute to his father only to return to ask for
forgiveness. He ran the risk of being rejected by his father. His father,
knowing nothing of his repentance, ran to meet him. At the time of Jesus, and
as today in the Middle East, it would have been very unusual and shameful for
an older man to run in this way and to expose their feet. It has been suggested
that he did this to reach his son before the villagers attacked and stoned him
for the shame he had brought on them. The father protected a disobedient son
from the law of the land (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). In the eastern culture, the
servant kisses the feet of his master, and kissing of the cheek is between
elders of equal stature. The fervent kissing and the hug made the son realize
that broken relationship, not the squandered money was the root of the entire
problem. Many scholars would have the passage titled ‘Running father’ rather
than the ‘Prodigal Son’. The father sought no explanations. He restored back
the title of his son by giving him his robe and the ring, which signifies
authority. Nobody could accuse him of anything as the father himself had
restored everything.
A third character emerges in the parable that happens to be
the older son. He was silent spectator of the event. He made no efforts
whatsoever to coax or rebuke his brother when a claim to the inheritance was
made. This was the sin of omission. The older son was disgruntled as he was
expecting a reward for his labor. He failed to understand that he was always
the older son for his father and his labor did not make him a slave in his
father’s estate. He was living with his father but did not realize that his
father was merciful and compassionate.
This father may have seemed to have lost one son in a
distant land, but had in fact also had a lost older son in his own backyard. We
each in our lives may also be lost in many ways and are trying to come to God
on our terms. We assume that we are close to Him and know Him. We create idols
in our mind as to how He is. We may seem to know him well but it may be far
from reality. Our Lord constantly seeks and beckons us. The life that is given
to us is one of celebration and it is time we realize that it is Gods nature
that is to be primarily celebrated along with the restoration of the lost. He
wants to restore us to our rightful position, which is with Him.
Prayer: “Lord, help me realize
that I am lost without you. Restore me so that I can always know and be with
you.”
Thought
for the day: Are
we in a place where we are supposed to be in?
Dr. Derry Rajan, Long Island M T C, NY.