The Prodigal God

This is a powerful study on the familiar story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32… however, often people miss the deeper messages and implications for our lives. (this video is just a trailer… click here for more info on the study materials)

Through this parable Jesus challenges what nearly everyone has ever thought about God, sin, and salvation. His story reveals the destructive self-centeredness of the younger brother, but it also condemns the elder brother’s moralistic life in the strongest terms. Jesus is saying that both the irreligious and the religious are spiritually lost, both life-paths are dead ends, and that every thought the human race has had about how to connect to God has been wrong.  Both wanted the things of the Father, but not the Father himself.

prod-i-gal — adjective 1. recklessly extravagant 2. having spent everything

One must start with the title, which probably has given many people a bit of a pause – and I think Dr. Keller did that on purpose. We tend to associate the word “prodigal” with the excessive lifestyle and wanderings of the younger son, but Keller points out that the definition of prodigal includes “recklessly extravagent” and “having spent everything” – both wonderful descriptions of the lavish love the Father of this story has for his wayward sons. Keller masterfully points us to Our Heavenly Father, who has been “recklessly extravagent” in his pursuit of changing sinners into sons.

Dr. Keller’s treatment of the condition of the older son is masterful, and he emphasizes that though both sons are alienated from the Father in different ways, the Father loves both and calls them to reconciliation. He also explains why we are left hanging about the resolution of the Elder brother’s relationship to the Father and how that related to his audience – the Pharisees.

I strongly recommend this study to Christians and people wondering about Christianity — this gets to the heart of the Christian faith – not the religion.