Essay on The Return of the Prodigal Son

The paper will focus on the text from the book of The Return of the Prodigal Son which will lay out the main themes and focus on how they impact on the daily life. The Return of the Prodigal Son involves a journey on a long spiritual adventure whereby a son shares his deeply personal resonant meditation that leads him to the discovery of a place where God has chosen to be. The story revolves around the return of the younger son and how his fathers intention to restore peace was taken by the vengeful elder son instead of compassion (Luke 15:11-32). The author evokes a powerful drama of how wealth can be a way of a family rival. It, therefore, put forth the theme of Ambition, failure, forgiveness and restoration. The themes will be discussed in detail.

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Themes

The theme of Ambition is seen to unfold as the son set out his ambition to be independent at the expense of his fathers peace. The young son is driven by his ambition to be independent that he asked for the portion of his inheritance ("The Return of the Prodigal Son," 2002). He needed his brothers half of the inheritance Deuteronomy 21:7. The act was perfect within his right although that was selfish of him to ask. Each person has an irrational determination to be free, and the younger son did not think of the consequences but wished for what he thought was rightfully his (Nouwen, 1994). His ambition was led by greed and the mistaken concept that a humans existence consists of the richness of his possession. His covetousness led him in a wrong direction making him an ingrate, rude and inconsiderate.

The other theme is that of failure. In Luke 13 it is seen that the younger son explores a faraway country where by his disobedience in his previous actions to the goodness of his father and his kindness turned against him. He squandered all of his fathers hard work for selfish and shallow commitment reason. As a result, the son lost everything he had inherited (Robbins, 1991). The financial disaster was not the end of his failure as natural disaster too was on the line in the nature of famine and he did not plan for. The failure he goes through allows him to succumb to physical slavery and worse was that, he started nurturing pigs.

The theme of forgiveness is the key theme in this text as the reconciliation between the father, and the son depicts the main message that was supposed to be nailed down. The act of the younger son would have brought public disgrace upon his father but seeing that his son had come back and humbled himself for forgiveness, he welcomed him with open arms ("The Return of the Prodigal Son," 2002). Even when the older brother refuses to welcome his younger son, and chose to rebuke his actions by proclaiming himself self-righteous, the father does not get angry but corrects the error in his thinking. The father forgives the son who had disgraced the family and prepared a feast to welcome him as his son regardless of his mistakes (Nouwen, 1994).

Due to the rift that was drawn between the elder brother and the younger brother, the father had to be wise and restore peace and love in the family (Robbins, 1991). He pointed out that he has always been available for the asking to his obedient son and the other portion of the inheritance was his since the allotment. Although the older son got what he wanted, he never utilized the blessings that were at his disposal 1 Peter 1:5-8.

Analysis of the Themes

The themes have been portrayed in a manner that makes the prodigal son as a prominent individual. The themes indicated how people are willing to go an extra mile to fulfill the wishes of their heart without having to consider how others might feel (Rickey, 2011). Even after threatening his fathers life, the father allowed him to leave with his desires and wishes. The son was in a state that couldnt be contented, and it was certain that his ambition to being free from the home he thought he detested was stronger (Luke 12:15). The prodigal son, however, learned the hard way that the covetous ambitions that he had led to disappointment and dissatisfaction which eventually made him a failure.

The theme also indicates the consequences of disobedience which is a failure at what we do. For the prodigal son to decide on a detestable job as being a slave to the Gentiles after being a master, he must have been in a loathsome position (Nouwen, 1994). The theme of failure was led by his choice that also made him choose to be a slave since he couldnt find mercy among the people since when his wealth was gone so was the people who called themselves his friends. It was clear that no one gave him anything even the unclean animals were better than he was. Being a slave was a state that one underwent after rejecting his fathers will (Hebrew 12:1).

The theme of forgiveness indicates reflection that one has after realizing that the other party has shown remorse for their actions and are ready to repent and be new. Sin can promise freedom, but in the end, it brings slavery John 8:34. The father welcomes and forgives his son after showing sincere meekness and repentance not on what he said but on what he was eager to do and act. He realized that it was not in his place to ask for grace but to dedicate his life and be a servant in his fathers house (Nouwen, 1994). He ended his life of slavery through confession, and he attained forgiveness which was symbolized through a feast to celebrate his return. The theme indicates that unconditional forgiveness can be offered even when one has sinned and saw that there is no retribution, God is always ready to search for the sinners and notice them along the way and run to embrace them just like the father ran towards his son and gave him a kiss of love.

Restoration of peace, hope, and love is what is important for the sinners, and with the return of the prodigal son, it is clear to state that the father knew that the older son saw himself righteous and condemned his brother for being sinful. The older son was, therefore, not ready to welcome him to the family (Rickey, 2011). Although this was so, the theme indicates that restoration entails putting things together to their previous state. The theme suggests that God is wise and he allows to have what we want to restore our hearts to satisfaction. The respectful people will earn the blessings of God and eternal life (Romans9:31-33).

Reflection

The author of the book opened up my eyes to a lot of things whereby he was able to picture that everyone is not perfect and that it is our duty to ask for forgiveness whenever we have gone astray. I have learned that God is willing to forgive our transgressions no matter the gravity of the sins or mistakes. Just like when the prodigal son went home, and the father ran towards him and kissed him, so does God moves towards us to show us the right path to follow. The father never condemned his son or waved fingers saying I told you so, he instead showed nothing but love. I have learned of the amazing love that is unconditional which our fathers showers us with and when faced with the situation to forgive, we should not picture our self as righteous and others sinners and judge them.

References

Nouwen, H. J. M. (1994). The return of the prodigal son: A story of homecoming.

Rickey, B. (2011). Boomerang: The return of the prodigal son. Kansas City, Mo: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City.

Robbins, J. (1991). Prodigal son/elder Brother: Interpretation and Alterity in Augustine, Petrarch, Kafka, Levinas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

The Return of the Prodigal Son. (2002). JAMA, 288(14), 1691. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.288.14.1691