Prodigal Son

Recently, I was trying to meditate upon the parable of the Prodigal Son, specifically about the Father's remark to the Elder Son, "All that I have is yours."

What the Father said was literally nothing more than the truth.  Under the ancient birthright laws, the estate was broken into equal shares and then elder son got two:  the birth right portion.  When the younger son demanded his share of the estate the father divided his property -- 2/3s to the Elder and 1/3 to the younger.  The younger son squandered his inheritance, it was all gone.  Everything that was left of the estate belonged to the elder son.

When the younger son returned home he had no rights, no property, nothing.  It all belonged to the Elder Son.

As I was thinking about this suddenly I understood something about this parable that I had not understood before.  It isn't only about a wronged Father's love and forgiveness.  It is about grace.  The robe, the ring, the shoes were all unmerited favor -- grace, but more than that from the moment the Gather embraced the prodigal to the day that the prodigal died, every mouthful of food he ate, every piece of clothing he put on, the bed he slept in and the chair he sat on and the roof over his head, it was all grace.

I am the prodigal, I deserve death but Jesus died for me and so each beat of my heart, each breath I draw, is nothing less than grace -- the infinite, unmerited favor of God.

The other thing I understood in trying to meditate on this parable was that when the Father told the Elder Son that "All that I have is yours," He was making a statement of legal fact.  The entire remaining estate was legally the Elder son's by right, 

This is where the parable parts from fact.  The only person in the universe who deserves the Father's estate by right is Jesus Christ.  Jesus is our elder brother and we are joint heirs by faith and grace.

The elder brother in the parable, of course, was not Jesus.  In fact, when he said that he had served the Father all these years and never once disobeyed Him, he was lying, because he did not have the Spirit of the Father.  He did not love as the Father loved and he did not forgive as the Father forgave.

We cannot serve and obey the Father if we do not share His Spirit and follow His example as seen in His Son Jesus.