The story of the prodigal son is one of those bible stories everyone can tell off hand. We have heard over and over. However, the emphasis is mostly always placed on the prodigal son. I believe the lessons to learn from that story do not exist around the prodigal son alone. There’s a reason why Jesus carefully mentions that the man has two sons, and then proceeds to give us an epilogue at the end. In today’s blog post, we’ll find out why.
After a stressful day at work, the prodigal son’s brother gets home to find out that his brother is back home. I am not sure how long the prodigal son was away from home, and the parable gives us no information on how close the brothers were. Regardless of the circumstances, it should have been a thing of joy that his brother was back home. But he couldn’t bring himself to rejoice. He was instead filled with anger and bitterness (Lk.15 25- 32). This brings me to the first lesson: Comparison is the thief of joy.
The older brother compared his loyalty and diligence to the prodigal’s unfaithfulness and concluded that it was unfair and wrong for the prodigal to be celebrated when he, the more responsible son, hadn’t even received up to half of that. He expresses his dissatisfaction to his father, and his father replies, “All that I have is yours.” He was fussing over one cow when he owned the entire barn. It makes me think of how many times believers have suffered in silence, holding up so much anger in their hearts just because they didn’t ask. He could have asked his father for anything, but he didn’t, and instead became secretly resentful.
He didn’t see his advantage of living a sheltered life, having servants at his beck and call, having a home to return to, and proper food to eat. He couldn’t see the advantage he had all this time because he was blinded by comparison. Even in our walk with God, many give up too early because they just can’t stop comparing themselves to others. “How come he just became born again yesterday, but he’s already working miracles, yet I’ve been praying and serving the Lord for years on end now, and no miracles yet?”
As the old hymn says, “Count your blessings.” When you make it a habit to reflect on God’s goodness, you’ll realise it doesn’t really matter that you didn’t get a goat for the party, because you’ve had access to the entire barn all along.
Another lesson I draw from this is the need for communication. I believe we would have less-frustrated Christians and a lower incidence of Christians leaving the faith if we understood that we can communicate with God. Many of us harbor deep resentment that we allow to grow and build a wedge between us and God. I can imagine if the father didn’t reach out to his elder son, maybe he would have never voiced out. He would have held all of that anger in and maybe made a rash decision like his younger brother did. But God invites us to speak to Him. Through prayer, we can ask Him questions, express our frustrations, and let Him in on the heavy burdens on our hearts.
“Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”
Psalm 62:8 NIV
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Philippians 4:6 NIV
God’s mercy is not exclusive or reserved for a few. As jarring as it is, if the worst criminal on earth were to turn to God for forgiveness today, and then die, they would receive a grand entry into heaven (Lk. 23:43). This was hard for the older brother to accept. He felt the prodigal son’s return was too easy, too celebrated. The Pharisees in Jesus’ time felt the same way. Tax collectors, adulterers, and “sinners” weren’t supposed to have the same access to God’s mercy and grace.
However, Jesus says otherwise. He explains that the gift of salvation is free and open to all who would take the first step to return to God. Through this parable, Jesus urges the Pharisees (and us) to count it as a thing of joy when the lost are found (Lk. 15:32). It’s a good thing when a believer stays on course, and it’s also a good thing when a wanderer retraces his steps back home.
The most important lesson we can learn from the older brother’s perspective is this: there is joy and peace in knowing that the Father is always present. In his anger over the feast, the older brother missed what mattered most: his father’s presence. Many times, believers get upset about how “easy” others have it despite their own faithfulness and diligence in serving the Lord. They forget that those earthly benefits are just add-ons. The real gift is the Father.
The primary goal of salvation is to reconcile us with the Father and to ensure that we are one with Him. Every other thing is just an extra. And when we understand this, it brings immeasurable depths of peace. This is the reason why the disciples could look death in the face and not feel defeated. The Father’s presence was an even greater satisfaction than warm clothes and good food. This is exactly what the father in the parable was trying to help his older son see: that communion with the Father is everything. It is through it that we gain access to all that the Father has. (Jn. 17:3; Rom. 5:10)
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