One of my favorite passages in the Bible is the parable of the Prodigal Son. I’ve read it more times than I can count. I even had to translate it as part of the final exam in my French 202 class, lo, those many years ago.
But its message never grows old.
I still encounter it regularly through my work with World English Institute, an organization that offers free Bible-based English lessons to students across the globe. The parable, found in Luke 15, is included in WEI’s introductory lesson, so it’s the first passage students study after they enroll in the course.
What a wonderful introduction to the love of God.
Most of us know the account. A young man asks his father for his share of the family inheritance, then leaves home and squanders everything in reckless living. When a famine strikes, he finds himself destitute, feeding pigs (an especially degrading job for a Jew) and longing for the food they eat. Finally, he comes to his senses.
He realizes that his father’s servants have more than enough food, yet he is starving. So he decides to return home, confess his wrongdoing and ask to be hired as a servant. He knows he has no right to expect anything more.
But what happens next is one of the most beautiful moments in all of Scripture.
Jesus tells us that while the young man was still a great distance away, his father saw him, had compassion on him and ran to meet him.
He ran.
Think about that for a moment.
The father didn’t wait for his son to arrive at the door. He didn’t demand an explanation or insist that the young man prove himself worthy of forgiveness. He ran toward him, embraced him and kissed him.
Ever since someone pointed this out to me years ago, I’ve been struck by the fact that this is the only place in Scripture where God, represented by the father in Jesus’ parable, is pictured running. And he’s running toward someone who has failed miserably.
The son begins the confession he has rehearsed, acknowledging that he has sinned against heaven and his father and is no longer worthy to be called his son. But before he can finish his planned request to become a hired servant, his father is already making preparations for a celebration.
Bring the best robe! Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet! Prepare a feast!
The son had hoped for enough mercy to be allowed to work as a servant. Instead, he received a welcome beyond anything he could have imagined.
What a picture of God’s love for us.
Sometimes we wander far from Him. We make poor decisions, allow sin into our lives and discover that the things we thought would bring happiness have left us empty. Sometimes we even convince ourselves that we’ve wandered too far to return.
But Jesus’ parable tells a different story.
Our heavenly Father doesn’t reluctantly accept repentant sinners. He welcomes them with love and compassion. The young man returned broken and humbled, with nothing to offer except his repentance.
As I work with WEI students who may be encountering this passage for the first time, I hope they recognize the extraordinary love it reveals. I also hope those of us who have known the parable for decades never lose our sense of wonder at what it reveals.
The most remarkable part of this homecoming isn’t simply that the son returned. It’s that the father ran.
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Sallie Rose Hollis lives in Ruston and retired from Louisiana Tech as an associate professor of journalism and the assistant director of the News Bureau. She can be contacted at sallierose@mail.com.
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