3A few days later, the younger son gathered together everything [that he had] and traveled to a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and immoral living. 14Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to do without and be in need. 15So he went and forced himself on one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to This would have seemed especially disgusting to Jesus’ Jewish listeners because pigs were ceremonially unclean animals, forbidden to them as food.feed pigs. 16He would have gladly eaten the [carob] pods that the pigs were eating [but they could not satisfy his hunger], and no one was giving anything to him. 17But when he [finally] came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough food, while I am dying here of hunger! 18I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] treat me like one of your hired men.” ’ 20So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. Luke 15:13-20 AMP
Earlier the prodigal son asks the father for his share of the inheritance while he is still living so that he can have fun while he is young. One could imply from the text that the prodigal son found many friends and fun when he chose to live immorally, or without regard to God’s commands, and his father’s instructions. It is very easy to find “fun”, immorality, confusion, drama, etc when we’re looking for it. Many of us, even when we’re out of place doing things that we know that we shouldn’t be in, we will go in headfirst, almost wholeheartedly. The prodigal son entered a lifestyle and world that he did not belong in, and it caused him to be used up, and spit out. Everyone gravitated to him while he had money and materials/resources that they could use and benefit from. As long as he could host the party, provide the drinks, drive them where they wanted to go, buy the weed/cigarettes/lean/vape/etc, and give the significant other a place to sleep or the money to stay looking good, they were all there for him….But when the money/resources/goods dried up, they all abandoned him. I’m sure there are some people reading this who can relate to the prodigal son when he was at his lowest moment, you found yourself alone, thinking back to “good/fun” times that you shared with others, and wondering where those people who you had done so much for, and shared yourself with, were when you needed them? When he was broke and destitute, why didn’t the people that he had taken care of welcome them into their home, feed him, give him a ride home, hook him up with a job, or give him some money as I’m sure that he had done them when he was up? A series of unfortunate events led the prodigal son to obtain a job as a farm hand, where he had become so hungry that he considered eating the slop that he fed to the pigs.
15So he went and forced himself on one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to This would have seemed especially disgusting to Jesus’ Jewish listeners because pigs were ceremonially unclean animals, forbidden to them as food.feed pigs. 16He would have gladly eaten the [carob] pods that the pigs were eating [but they could not satisfy his hunger], and no one was giving anything to him. Luke 15:15-16 AMP
An interesting thing about when we get on a slippery slope, is that it ever ends unless one of two things happens: God intervenes and rescues us from the free-fall, or we make the choice to get up or get off the slippery slope. The prodigal son made the decision to end his wayward ways after he considered and realized how far he had strayed from who he was, what he had been taught, and that the current life he was living wasn’t meant for him. I like that the Amplified bible elaborates on texts and gives reference scriptures and sometimes commentary/definitions for things. In v15 it clarifies that Jews, which the prodigal son was, are forbidden from eating pork, and don’t touch or work with pigs. For the prodigal son to accept the job of feeding and keeping pigs is another strike in his rejection of the values and laws that he had been raised to keep. When we step away from who we are, and what God has called us to do it is virtually impossible to determine where the deviation/straying will end. This next verse, I will use again in pt3, but I feel that it is very important here:
6Train up a child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents], Even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
Often we hear this line in church, and I can admit that I heard it often misquoted with the additional words; “and if they depart, they’ll come back.” The word never says that a properly trained child will depart, though the prodigal son departed physically from home, and acted in a way that was contrary to what he had been taught/instructed, the bible never mentions that his heart had strayed. This is a dangerous statement to make, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that though the prodigal son desired to live as the world, participated in ungodly behavior, and disrespected the father when he asked for the inheritance, his heart/soul was always in the right place, even when his mind/decisions were wrong. I say this because in v17 when “he comes to his senses,” he realized and knew that he had a home, resources, and loving father who had more than enough, and the willingness to welcome him back home. After being failed/forsaken by the world, and the things that he valued or thought that need wanted/needed, he realized that the pig slop couldn’t AND wouldn’t fill his hunger, and that he couldn’t find anywhere else what he had left at home with his father. I understand that not all of us come from Christian homes, or loving families that have the resources to take care of us, but we all have Jesus who is continually mediating to the father on our behalf, and a Holy Spirit that understands our heart/desires and communicates our needs that we may not even be aware of to the Father who is more than able AND willing to meet our needs. For each of you who are reading this, ask yourself, “Who can I run to/When the money goes, who will stay?”
Reflection Time
Is it me? Whether you have “strayed” from the home, church, faith, ask yourself where is my heart? Am I ready or willing to return home, to my family, God, or that which I left prematurely but was meant for me?
