The Prodigal Son's Mother

Friday, 01 July 2011

• The Prodigal Son's Mother

  The scriptures have quite a few wonderful parables, but the one that I ponder on the most is the one involving the prodigal son.  I think it intriques me because there are some unanswered questions about the whole situation.  Here is the story . . .  There was a man who had 2 sons and the younger one says to his father "Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth me".  In other words, "Dad, I want my share of the inheritance.  I want everything that I will get when you pass away, but I want it now.  I don't want to wait."  So the father hands it over, the son takes it and very soon turns all the assets into cold hard cash and wastes every penny on "riotous" living.  Did he think to invest it for the future?  Nope!  He has no thought for the future, or he would have never asked for his inheritance in the first place.  He wants to live it up and do whatever his flesh desires, and that is exactly what he did, but only for a short time.  Very soon, he became a boy with no possessions, no money and no friends.  In the midst of all this, a "mighty" famine comes upon the land, and he is in dire straights.  He finds a farmer who raises pigs and could use an extra hand and the boy is sent into the fields to feed them.  The job of feeding pigs was considered a very low down degrading job, especially for a Jew.  He became so hungry and desperate that all he wanted was to eat the pig food and to fill his belly, but even that was forbidden him.  The reality of his situation, thoughts of his home, all the luxuries that were being enjoyed by those living there, brought him to the end of himself and to repentence.  He decided he was going to go home to his father, confess his sins, ask for forgiveness and be content to be considered a servant, for he did not feel worthy to be called a son anymore.   You can only imagine how he looked . . . dirty, skinny, tattered and defeated.  He makes his way towards home and his father sees him coming way down the road, feels compassion, runs to him and kisses him.   The story goes on with the father asking the servants to kill the fatted calf and prepare a party.  It continues on telling about the older brother, and that is very interesting also, but I want to stop here.  This is such a moving picture of God lovingly waiting for those who have left Him or those who have never submitted their lives to Him.  I love this picture!  Reading over this parable I also have questions . . . .  how old was this boy?  what drove him to the point of wanting to leave home?  And he knew that by getting his inheritance early, he would no longer have any claims to his father's property.  What was the family home life like?  Did he have more siblings?  And where was his mother?  She is not mentioned at all, so possibly she was no longer living.  But maybe she was and maybe every day she stood watching for him while she done the dishes, or every time she passed a window she would pull back the curtain and peer down the road.  Maybe she would weep in her husband's arms, and he would reassure her that he was watching and waiting also and one day they would see their son again.  Maybe she wondered if she could've done something different to prevent this from happening.  Maybe she thought her husband didn't handle the situation correctly, or maybe she wondered why the younger son was rebellious and the older son so compliant?  I can only imagine the thoughts that would have been swirling around in her head, and I can imagine her sadness and pain in thinking of her son out in the world without her.  I can imagine that each day she knelt down and prayed for him, for his safety and salvation.  The parable lacks details, but if you are a parent, you can put yourself in this father's, and possibly mother's, shoes.   Did they think they messed up as parents and it was their fault he left?  How did they respond to the local gossip that was whispered through the streets?  I don't know the anwers to these questions, but I do know for sure that we have a Heavenly Father who is lovingly peering down the road watching . . . . watching and waiting for His son or daughter to come home . . . to come to Him with all the dirt and filth, with empty, hungry bellies and He will run to meet them, kiss away the hurts, wash away the filth and prepare a feast. There would be rejoicing for the prodigal has come home.   Oh, what a picture................
  Until next time...............