Home, Part 2
When the prodigal son returned home with humility and a repentant heart, his father welcomed him with compassion, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. My recent survey on what home means to people revealed that home represents the following categories: family, security, love, comfort, light, joy, and peace. As I considered all of the responses in light of this parable, it occurred to me that Jesus represents every single category we think of, when we think of home.
Family
“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Romans 8:14-16)
Security
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10)
Love
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and every one who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love,” (1 John 4:7-8)
Comfort
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
Light
“Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
Joy
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” (John 15:11)
Peace
“For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.” (Ephesians 2:14)
We are called to be like Christ.
Whenever we encounter others, may we treat them as Jesus would.
Let our every interaction make them feel like they just came home.
Home, Part 1
The parable of the prodigal son is a compelling story of heartbreak and redemption. In addition to the main story line, we also observe the nuances of the relationships between a father and his two sons. The climax of the story is when the prodigal returns home and we see the father rejoice over his return and the restoration of that broken relationship. In the father we see a heart full of grace, compassion, mercy and forgiveness.
Earlier this year I conducted a survey asking people to share the first words that came to mind when I said the word “home.” I surveyed 25 people, both men and women, ranging from age 10 to 86. It was interesting to see similarities and patterns begin to form as the answers were tabulated. I anticipated answers like family, love, and a safe place, but was surprised at the number of people who mentioned candles, candlelight, and a fire in the fireplace. Other answers included welcoming, peaceful, good food, and “a place where I can be myself.” My favorite answer was, “a place where it is imperfect but perfectly suited to me and my kids.”
After compiling and analyzing the answers, seven main categories emerged. It was a challenge to figure out where to put some of the answers because there was overlap with some of the categories. Listed below are the categories with some examples of the answers in parentheses.
Comfort (cozy, warm, comfortable)
Family (known, familiarity, conversation, relationship, pets)
Love (loving, loved and to love)
Safety/Security (my safe place, hide from the world, haven, refuge, sanctuary, protected, escape)
Peace (relaxing, rest, contentment)
Light (candles, candlelight, fireplace with a blazing fire)
Joy (laughter, happy)
In an upcoming blog titled Home – Part 2, I will tie all of this together as I conclude my series on the first beatitude “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
The Prodigal Son
The parable of the prodigal son provides an excellent example of what it means to be poor in spirit and experience the kingdom of heaven. Most of us are quite familiar with the story. A man had two sons. The younger one asked for his inheritance early and went out into the world to live wild and free. He lost everything…his money, honor, self-respect, and reputation. His life became empty and filled with humiliation as he found himself in a field of pigs, longing to eat their food because no one noticed or cared that he was desperate and starving. In Luke 15:17 it says that he “came to his senses” and decided to return home. He knew the sinfulness of what he had done and returned with a heart of true repentance. His father had compassion for him, gave him a new set of clothes and a ring, and threw a huge party for him. The older son, a man who had been obedient and faithful to his father his whole life, was incensed. He was filled with bitterness, jealousy, pride and resentment. He judged his brother harshly and argued with his father that it wasn’t fair to reward him for his reprehensible behavior.
Every time I have read this story, I have focused on the contrast of the two sons. One was guilty of overt sin (greed and loose living) and the other was guilty of covert sin (anger, jealousy, pride, bitterness.) The details of this story are so vivid, and the action plays out like a film in your mind. It is easy to identify with one, or perhaps both of the sons, depending on your own personal story.
This time I focused a little bit more on the father. How did he treat his two sons?
He gave them freedom to choose (to leave – v12-13, to enter in – v28)
He sought relationship – whether their sinful behavior was obvious or hidden, he wanted a relationship with both of them.
He met them where they were - he was looking for his prodigal, and ran to meet him on the road (v20). He came out of the party to entreat the older son to come in (v28).
He loved both equally (v22-23, 31)
He wanted both sons to enter into his joy (v22-23, 31)
1 Peter 1:15-16 says, “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
What an incredible companion verse to this parable. Not only are we to recognize and repent of the sin in our hearts, be we need to model our behavior after the Father. Throughout the story we see the father’s incredible character, and it is symbolic of our heavenly Father. He has a heart full of grace, mercy, compassion, forgiveness and a desire for restoration and reconciliation.
The prodigal son returned home poor in spirit and:
Received forgiveness
And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32Received compassion
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36
He was welcomed home, fully loved and fully forgiven — Blessed.