I see an important simile in the parable of the Prodigal Son. I see in it Christ’s redemptive power. I will not rehash the parable itself as I am presuming that most of us know it so I will outline what it is that I see.
The father of this parable is in every way symbolic of our Father in Heaven who respects our free agency and yet welcomes back, with compassion, forgiveness and immense joy, anyone who returns to Him. We, like the younger son, are the prodigals, who have gone out into the world and are spending more than what our part of the inheritance would have been worth. The First Born of the Father, the Saviour himself, can be compared to the good son in the parable, but with a huge difference. The parable's good son never sought him who was lost, despite the kinship, despite the brotherhood, despite the Father's sorrow over his loss. And when his brother returned, he was reluctant and fearful he would have to share his inheritance with him. The Saviour, on the other hand, knowing from the beginning that He alone would inherit all the Father has, propagated and promoted His willingness to share the inheritance with his younger siblings. But the loving kindness did not end there. Because of His perfect nature and the purity of His love, He was able to say: ‘I will not only share with them all that I have but I will make it possible for them to return. If they come to Me, none will stay in deficit’.
I have been faithful to God all my life, carefully avoiding sin, and whilst recognising that I, like everybody else am not sinless, I had not fully resonated with the prodigal son until I realised one day that I, like him have made unwise decisions in my life, not exercising the power of foresight when I made them. Because like sin, every decision carries with it consequences and repercussions, I have suffered much over the years because of them. But the Saviour’s Atonement covers all sin and all foibles of mortality and its ensuing suffering, and even that of bad decisions. The Atonement is not only cleansing but also consoling. Like a salve to a wound, it relieves the pain and heals the once broken, the once torn, the once damaged, the once suffering. Its' restorative power makes us whole and once again aligned with God. It means all our sins, our bad choices and our unwise decisions can be swept away.
I sometimes hear such merciless comments as: they deserved what they got, or they made their bed, they have to lie in it now. The thing to remember is that some of us will have more to be forgiven of than others, because we are not all equally strong. Some of us are good sons and some are the foolish ones. Some are strong and some, for whatever reason, are weak. Where would we be if the Saviour had said: If I can be sinless, so can you! I know, for one, I would be lost. Because of Him, I, the prodigal, can return. It means I can once again be safe, be loved and never be lost again….and I can still have it all.
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