Which one are you?
I’m currently in the midst of a fascinating small-group study of Timothy Keller’s book The Prodigal God. It’s a wonderful analysis of a familiar story—I highly recommend the book, unless you’re opposed to having old ideas challenged a bit.
Most of us are familiar with The Parable of the Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:11-32) Cliff notes version: younger son demands his share of the inheritance, wanders off and squanders it. Homeless, hungry, and humiliated, he decides to return home and beg his father for a job. Dad sees him coming, rushes to greet him, and throws a lavish party. Older brother resents Dad’s unconditional welcome.
Those who read this story commonly identify with one of the two brothers. Personally, I’ve always figured I was the classic younger brother—messed up in about every conceivable way and welcomed home only through generous grace.
So, which one are you?
You probably noticed that the diagram is a continuum. That’s because few of us are purely one or the other. So perhaps a more real question might be where would you place yourself on the line?
A SUBTLE TWIST
After thinking about your current position, twist the question slightly: where would you WANT to be?
If you read Keller’s book, you’ll realize it’s a trick question.
Everyone sees the issues with the younger brother: disrespectful, disobedient, wasteful—a long list of obvious mistakes. He’s a total loss, rescued in the end only because of his father’s generosity and forgiveness.
The older brother’s a little more complicated. At first he looks like the good son—he stayed home, obeyed, worked hard. We might think he has a right to be at least a bit annoyed at the end of the story. But a closer look reveals a different picture. A short list of issues:
- He disrespects his father publically, an extreme offense in that culture.
- He resents not getting credit for doing what was expected.
- He never pursued his lost brother, which would have been a cultural demand on the oldest brother.
- He resents his own brother’s welfare and restoration.
- He refuses to enter the party. At the end, the younger brother’s inside. He accepts his dad’s forgiveness. But the elder brother stubbornly refuses to enter.
In the surrounding context, the younger brother symbolizes the sinners with whom Jesus associated. That part’s pretty clear.
But the elder brother represents Jesus’ other audience, the Pharisees and religious leaders who valued rules and traditions above people. Like the elder brother, they judged, classified, and condemned. They were focused on obeying the laws, but they lost sight of the Father.
You may have missed it in the diagram, or thought it was a typo; Keller maintains that a more fitting title for the story might be The Parable of the Lost Sons.
For me, the plural on “Sons” changes my entire perspective on the story—especially when you consider the ending, which brother was inside at the feast, and which brother was outside in the dark.
Now do you see why it was a trick question? I invite you to leave a comment with your response:
Where would you want to be along the continuum?
(A personal note: I was honored to write a guest post at a wonderful site called 300 words a day. I highly recommend that site for regular inspiration and challenge, and I invite you to check out do you want to get well? and see a wheelchair user’s perspective on Jesus’ encounter with a paralyzed man in John 5)
Did you enjoy this article? I encourage you to leave a comment, visit my website, and/or send me an email at rich@richdixon.net.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you Rich for this post. This coming Sunday's gospel will be this one, and I have to teach people who are getting ready for their babtism on Easter!
God bless you!
So–how can you help them see that the trick is to be NEITHER brother? That’s a touch one for me.
wow .. what an interesting concept!
I would put myself on the line being the younger brother – and still walking down the driveway on my way home – 'analyzing' what to say, how to say it and then how to receive it … hmmm, waiting to see how I'll be received … because my real father could care less when I would return home from college or service … and I ended back 'in the world' figuring out life alone …
but, then – I'm part of the older brother … I've been diligently staying the course (praising and thanking Him daily) … and yet, life just keeps getting harder and harder … and I see others (both believers and non-believers) being overwhelmed with blessings and they aren't thankful in any respect!
so, part of me has acceptance issues … and then, anger/bitterness issues …
It’s really not easy to do this sort of honest self-examination. It always leads me back to being thankful I don’t have to earn the welcome on my own.
Thank you Rich for posting this topic. It is all so easy to say that i would be this brother or that brother. unless you experience the situation you can't really know what your reaction would be. As a Christian i would like to think that i would be overjoyed thanking God for his safe return home,and joining in with the celebrations.
When i first suffered my stroke i felt in the position of the prodical son as regards i felt that i had strayed away from home, I had taken my inheritance, blew it and thrown it back in his face. Our forgiving and loving God accepted me back in my family with open arms, little did i realise at the time that he hadn't disinherited me in the first place, nor had my family. So the answer to your question to me is that i would be the prodical son asking for forgivness from God for ungratfulness of my inheritace.
I grew up thinking I was a believer, but I was squarely in the camp of the older brother. I thought I was so-o-o-o-o-o- spiritual and other people were so-o-o-o-o-o unspiritual. (May I throw up now?!) I even remember telling my brother that I didn't see any sin to repent of! Of course, I now realize that that statement was a dead giveaway that I had never repented and wasn't really a believer. The problem was that Christian friends often treated me as if I was a little angel, and I began to believe "my own press releases". Now that I am a true believer, I see myself on a continuum, learning to be more like the younger brother. I know that sounds bizarre, but he truly repented, and I want to be that way . . . to see my sin as God sees it, to repent and move forward.
Hi Rich. When I became disabled and felt like I had nothing, I was full of desire. When you have nothing, you think possessions will fill your hole. When you have what you think you wanted, you find you can still feel empty. I find joy in giving. Being a quad, I have to ask more often than give. I hate, hate, hate asking "Will you do this for me?" Now I see why Jesus was a servant. Those who help me are worth their weight in gold to me. That is the only value we should seek. Be gold to someone. I don't know if that answered your question, but that is what I've learned in this vapor of life.
I've always identified with the prodigal son, more so after I left home and married. I wouldn't WANT to be either. It seems like to me that the only difference between them was that the older brother stayed home. But as for where I am on that road, . . . only G-d can tell that. Maybe I am the younger son who has been welcomed home, but I still feel like I don't deserve to be here and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for what I have done wrong. For those of us who have spent decades in the pig sty, just being home seems like enough.
I agree-I wouldn't WANT to be anywhere on that line. But I am!