Scot McKnight, in The Jesus Creed, offers an interesting perspective on the prodigal son’s return home. When the younger son has run out of money, out of friends and out of luck in a foreign land, he turns toward home. McKnight captures an intriguing intercept by the boy’s Father, a loving “Abba”.
“Another surprising feature of this parable is that the Abba is the first to notice his son’s return. Some Bible scholars observe a Jewish custom between the lines: when a son disgraces his father through sinful behaviors, runs away from him, and then later returns, the elders of the city take the young man to the village center and break a pot at his feet. The broken pot is a legal act of banishment. These scholars also think, in this parable, the Abba runs to his son so that he can prevent the really awful event he fears: others banning him from the community if they reach him first. So, the Abba sprints to the son and announces, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe’.”
What a painfully astounding possibility! In Jesus’ story, the disgraced Daddy runs to meet his son with love and acceptance before the righteous leaders can get to him with judgment and rejection. Might behavior like this explain the bumper sticker I saw recently: “I like Jesus. It’s his followers I can’t stand”? What if, even today, there are gatekeepers at the doors of the kingdom whose focus is not on inviting all people in, but on keeping the wrong people out? Searchers, skeptics, sinners longing to find their way home to the wide-open welcoming arms of God…but who get stopped by closed-armed, closed-minded, fearful, frowning saints who are more interested in protecting the church than being the church.
What a picture—God scrambling to reach a broken, desperate, downtrodden child before some of His other children get there first and sabotage His plans for rescue and redemption. His purpose is to bless; their plan is to banish. May God forgive us when He has to race past us because He can’t trust us to love like He does.
But here’s the good news for all of us prodigals: God is fast. Really fast. He can cover the distance between you and your sins in a heartbeat. Even when you are a long way off, He’s got His eye on you. He sees you before anyone else does. You are His prize, His finish line, His goal. When you turn and head for home, He brings home to you.
May we always walk (and run) in the ways of God. May we never get in the way of God.
Dennis Lynn
Redwood Church
