Eldest son - Parable of the Prodigal Son

Sunday night I heard a sermon about the parable. Nowadays people like to talk about the eldest son or the father. Why is that? When I was younger people wished to speak about repentance and the youngest son, the "Prodigal" Son.

LH defined prodigal as one who is profligate with generosity. He thought that refers more to God. Now that is true. It is wonderful to realize how gracious God is. I applaud the change is the emphasis on this parable. As LH said there are many levels to this parable, even an infinite number. He used the word infinite. Now infinite is a large number but I do agree with the sentiment.

But I think those who called the son profligate meant that he went of and spend profligately, which he did. It is certainly true that the Father was profligate with mercy to both sons.

I thought it was marvelous that LH mentioned how the Father not only ran after the younger son but also ran after the elder son when it turned out he would not come to the party.

It is interesting that we are left with an incomplete resolution. We are left with the father pleading with the son. The son is treating his father with contempt. It is not clear that the eldest son will forgive his brother despite the fact that his father certainly has.

LH mentioned that this will affect the elder son financially. Since the assets are still the dads and since the dad has accepted the son back not as a servant but as a son the assets will still be split equally at his death. (I have often wondered about that and wished it to be the opposite.)

But as LH spoke I realized how in my work life I am much like the eldest son. I try not to have temper tantrums like the son in the story did. But it is hard to keep an even keel.

My dad split the assets of his business among us six children. There have been some prodigal sons in this group. But I (along with another son) have kept this thing going. We have had siblings who stopped working yet still got paid. And now that we are dissolving the assets everyone gets an equal amount despite the fact that some of us have worked harder. Well I have been paid well for it. Sometimes they are jealous of my salary.

But I am proud of the fact that I have kept it all together, for the most part, without too much anger and too many lawsuits (just one). Everyone has contributed to this of course and I have made some mistakes.

I think my understanding about forgiveness and trusting God for my provision has helped greatly in my keeping an even keel in all this. I could get angry, like others have, at siblings who took advantage of my dad's goodness. But I refused, for the most part, to do this. And I have argued that we should forgive and understand that the sibling is weak and need some help and pity. I have tried to be a voice of reason.

But I'd never really thought of how closely my situation is analogous to this parable.