Open Endings


 

 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again: he was lost and is found. Luke 15:31

The story of the prodigal son has been a recurrent theme for me for years and recently it’s been a fairly constant companion. On close inspection and upon serious delving into it, I find that I am and/or have been every one of those three characters many times. I desire to be the Father. That is the kind of heart I want to have and to share. During my time with the story I’ve been able to identify a few places where I have been successful with that, with having and giving a version of that open armed, unconditional love. That is great, considering that being able to live life with that attitude is the goal.

          I’m a person who hates the end of books, not because the story is over but because I have to give up the characters. Well written, richly developed characters draw me in and when the story ends I want them to stay. I want to know what happens to them next. The three main players in the prodigal story, father, son and elder brother are extremely rich and deep characters. I am very drawn into the drama that is illustrated in Luke 15. Then it ends. Kid’s home, dad’s thrilled, older brother is….well, he’s not thrilled, that’s for sure! Then what? Read the verse again, that’s the end. No! I need to know what happened next.

          The father says to the older brother, everything I have is yours. Does the older brother then begin to live with the confidence of one who is loved and has all the provisions that he needs? Does the younger son truly understand the magnitude of what his father has done for him? Does the father recover from the betrayal? Is he able to build and sustain a new relationship with both boys? I want to know!

          It’s a good news/bad news thing. I can know, at least in my own life what the outcomes are whenever I see myself in the story. The bad news? We are not characters in a parable intended to enlighten and guide. We are real fallible human beings.

          The prodigal sons come back but do they embrace the fathers? Is there always a sense of accountability? Do they always see the hurt they’ve brought into the father’s life? No.

          Some father’s run, just like the one in the parable. Some stand back but open their arms when the son shows up. Some allow the son the exact thing he came over to get, a place on the staff.

          The older brother? If he gets it is the happiest of men. He is loved! No striving, proving or working necessary and yet those things are always applauded by the father. If he doesn’t get it and instead holds onto his bitterness, as my dear friend Bella would say, “poor him!”

          I love the parable and I’ve learned so much. It has blessed my life in ways I could not have imagined. Unfortunately I’ve also come to realize that it is open ended, not just in the Bible but in life. All of us, sons, brothers and fathers alike have free will. I still want to know the rest of the story and hopefully one day, when I get Home, I will.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Applause, Applause and Protection

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, Hebrews 12:1 Reading some Scripture this morning I was reminded of a message that I watched from Louie Giglio. In it Louie described a child of God leaving her home for the day. He goes on about how the heavenly beings see it. With great excitement, he tells of the joy and applause going on in heaven as the woman gets in the elevator, gets to the parking lot and gets in her car. It’s hilarious and over the top, (remember I did say it was Louie Giglio!) but there’s a great lesson in it. My husband and I were watching a TV show about a fictional former president. At one point the poor man is just over the Secret Service detail. He’s tired of them following him around so he fires them. It takes less than five minutes for him to start to see all that they’ve been doing for...
Read more

My Father Saw That

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me, “for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13 There’s a movie from several years ago that I absolutely love! It’s called “The American President.” The premise is that the president, who is a widower, has begun to date. He’s dating a lovely woman while running for reelection. His opponent is awful. He knows he doesn’t have much of a chance against the popular incumbent so he tries to make a mountain out of the molehill of the standing president’s romance. At one point there is a news clip that shows the woman in a protest during her college days. After the clip plays the opponent refers to the president’s lady friend as “the president’s whore.” She groans and says to the president “My father saw that!” She is devastated, not because what is being said is true but because her father, who she loves and respects, saw the clip and heard those words spoken about her. I thought of ...
Read more

Not Really god, where are you?

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning to noon.”Baal answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said, “Surely he is a god! Perhaps his is deep in thought, or busy or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 1 Kings 18:26b-27 Those who know me would be quick to tell you that I am a bit sarcastic. It’s a quality that I have passed on to my children and even some of my grandchildren. Some days I feel a little guilty. Is that really a quality that God wants to see in me? Certainly that cannot be my go to attitude but there are times that it comes in quite nicely. This morning, reading a totally unrelated verse, I was reminded of this account in the first book of Kings. (It begins at verse 16 and continues to the end of the chapter. I highly recommend reading it if you haven’t and it if you have reread it. It’s great!) In this p...
Read more