Prodigal Sons & A Merciful Father

“Man has always lost his way. He has been a tramp ever since Eden; but he always knew, or thought he knew, what he was looking for. ...For the first time in history, he begins really to doubt the object of his wanderings on the earth. He has always lost his way, but now he has lost his address." – G.K. Chesterton

We are all prodigals. We may differ in the particular way we are lost but we are all born with a sense that we belong to a different world. As Chesterton explains, man has wandered so far that “he has lost his address.” We struggle to find our way forward and no longer know what it means to be home. 

This is powerfully revealed in Luke 15:11-32. Last week we looked at the younger brother, the defiant prodigal who left his father for freedom only to find himself in greater bondage. He comes to his senses and clearly sees it would be better to be a day worker in his father’s house than starving for pig slop. 

This Sunday, we will look at the older brother, the dutiful prodigal (v.25-32). If you have ever questioned if you were good enough for God to love you or struggled with understanding how certain people could truly be Christians with their sordid past, then you need to meet the dutiful son.