I did read Henri J.M. Noun’s book ‘The Return of The Prodigal Son’. There are so many lessons in there. The account from Jesus always connects to my heart. Having looked at it many times, one day a light bulb came on. The father did not pursue his wayward son. The prodigal lived with his decisions and those consequences. When he had figured out another way he turned in another direction. God does not chase us but invites us. Today I read the Luke account 15:11-24 from Our Daily Bread. The topic was about when to party. OK, but I noticed something new in vs 12, “and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ And he divided his wealth between them.” Both son’s received their inheritance. The younger hit the road but the older probably invested or had his own party, or any number of things we can only guess. I had always pictured the cause of the older brother’s resentment to be that he was left behind while his irresponsible brother was having fun. They both had resources but the older stayed behind. Was it duty? Did he like his country? Was he married, or loyalty? We don’t know, but we do know that they were given the same opportunity. I had missed that part of the account. The ending is joyful – like the happy ending of your favorite movie. For the unwise brother, he got an education in the world. The ending was also happy for the older brother. He had his inheritance and his father’s love all the while. Keep reading because God has more to show us and look up the work by Rembrandt, Return of the Prodigal Son.
