I was chatting with a friend the other day and suddenly I started thinking about the prodigal. For me the parable of the prodigal is one of the keystones or foundations of the Gospel message. So much about the character of God is wrapped up in the small story that Christ tells. Let’s read Luke 15:11-32 –

“There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

   “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

   “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.

   “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

   “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

   “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

   “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

   “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

   “‘My son,’ 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.’”

Essentially you have a son who asks for his inheritance from his father, essentially saying “I wish you were dead but since you’re not give me my due now” so that he can abandon the family with half its source of income and go party with prostitutes etc. until he has squandered everything and is starving not even allowed to eat the pig food. Anyhow, you know the rest. He decides to go home and is celebrated rather than chastised.

Here’s the big question…was the son repentant?

Think about that. What does repentance look like and was the son it? By the text one can assume he would have continued drinking and whoring for as long as he had money. He decides to go back to his father’s house as a last resort because he is starving. There is no sense of remorse except for himself. Even the words he says to his father sound suspiciously like words designed to get him welcomed back and not wholly genuine.

“I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ “

Oxford defines the word repent as follows:

verb

[no object]

• feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one’s wrongdoing or sin

The key to this definition is “sincere regret or remorse”. So the question remains – did the son repent? Was he sincere in his regret?

I would suggest to you that the son was penitent but not the way we have made it. Like so many things Christ says that we are uncomfortable with we change it. Repentance has become loaded with words like genuine and sincere and real like code words or legal caveats added to what we fear is a weak argument.

.
If the prodigal is repentant it looks like this: He took his money, wasted it on prostitutes and drunkenness and then when he ran out and was starving hoped to trick his father into letting him back in as a servant by admitting to his failures. This is a far cry from how we define repentance which is a tad more works oriented in our vocabulary.  The son does not even expect forgiveness…he expects to be punished and to have to work off his sins and we would expect so as well.

.
What makes this even more brilliant is the way the father responds. The father starts running toward his son to welcome him back before he can offer excuses. The father runs to accept his son back before he knows why he left and why he came back and what he did because he does not care…his child has returned and this is all that matters.

.
The older brother (who is so much like us in so many ways) is offended by the father’s response. The older brother is indignant because he has been a good, obedient, hard working son and dad has not so much as offered him a goat to roast with his friends but his sinful, lying brother returns and dad throws an enormous party. What gives? The older brother even says the younger one spent his money on prostitutes? How does he know this? Did the younger brother send letters informing them of all the sin he was involved with? Not likely. More likely the older brother, in his jealous rage, simply assumes these things – correct or incorrect. As far as he is concerned this feels wrong.

.
The father explains – your brother was dead but is now alive again.

.
Who cares why he left? Who cares what he did? Who cares if he even really wants to be here for sincere, real, genuine reasons – he is here, I love him, that is all that matters.

.
If this is what repentance really feels like what does that say about the character of God? Or another question could be – how many times would the son have to run away and live a sinful lifestyle before the father finally says – ENOUGH! I do not want you back. Does repent mean to return to God or does it mean return to God under these circumstances and conditions? What if, just maybe, the real transformation in the son comes as a result of the father’s response – and not before?

.
Lots to ponder…looking for feedback.