The Prodigal Son

The story of The Prodigal Son is one of the most well known stories in the entire Bible. Even people who are not regular Bible readers know it. In fact, it probably ranks right up there with Adam and Eve, Noah’s ark and Moses escaping Egypt.

It’s the story of the younger of two sons who asks for his inheritance from his father early. His father grants his request and the son subsequently goes and squanders every penny on wild women and raucous partying. When he gets hungry and desperate he crawls back home in shame and asks to be merely treated as one of his father’s servants and not as a member of the family. His father scoffs at the notion of treating his son as a servant and welcomes him back with open arms. On top of that, the father orders the fatted calf to be butchered (a very high honor for the younger son) and served it at a banquet of celebration. Meanwhile, the older, more responsible brother remained home and did everything he was supposed to. Upon seeing the reception his younger brother received, the older brother protested. The father told the older son to “get a grip” and assured him that everything he had was his, but for the moment the wayward son had returned and there would be a celebration in his honor. In other words, the older son was told to get over himself. His loyalty and good behavior would be rewarded. The younger brother was not being rewarded for being wastefully extravagant, but just celebrated because he was back home.

Why am I posting this story? It’s not because I felt the need to share a well-known Bible story. It’s because something happened recently that reminded me of the story.

Two years ago, Michael moved out of the house. He went away to college and I honestly never expected him to live under my roof again (it’s what happened to his older sister). But happily the Prodigal Son has returned. Don’t get me wrong. Michael has not been sowing his wild oats. He has not been living a raucous lifestyle. It’s quite the contrary. While earning an associate’s degree, he has held down two part-time jobs and has been actively involved in church. He also taught a Bible study at the Baptist Campus Ministries at NKU. So, there are very few similarities between the Prodigal Son and Michael, but he has returned nonetheless. We haven’t butchered the fatted calf, but we have definitely had some hearty meals since he came home last week. I think this is the best he’s eaten in quite a while. Beef jerky and ramen noodle soup only goes so far. I think he’s enjoyed the home cookin’ since coming back to the house.

In case you’re wondering, Michael has returned home because it is closer to the Creation Museum where he recently secured a full-time job in their surveillance and security department (but that’s a post for a different day).

It’s definitely good to have him back home. I’m glad to have some testosterone around to balance out the estrogen ☺