The parable of the Prodigal son has traditionally been used as an evangelistic springboard to bringing in new souls into the kingdom. The title in Luke 15 often created by translators before the narrative is "The Parable of the Prodigal Son". If we wish to be hermeneutically correct though, the parable was NOT meant by Jesus to be evangelistic for non-believers. It really is a revival parable for two types of problematic sons of the kingdom and should be entitled "The Parable of the Problematic Sons".
Both brothers have separate issues and unfortunately, they are common to most Christians and are therefore quite relevant for discussion from a perspective of correct exegesis.
The more popular son was the one who left the father's home after acquiring his inheritance. He represents Christians who live dual lives, hypocrite Christians. They claim to be children of God but behave like children of the world or the devil. They claim to be a new creation in Christ but there is no such evidence in their lives, no fruit of the Spirit, no love for God or neighbor. He represents Christians who would rather live their old sinful lives than the holy life that being born-again should result into. These are Christians who have willfully broken their fellowship with the Heavenly Father or the Lord Jesus because they would rather be of the world or conform to the world in their lifestyle. There is very little or nothing in their behavior or lifestyle that would be proof that they are indeed children of God. They behave like the rest of the world. They conform readily to the things of the world or things of the flesh.
The prodigal son was really in danger of losing everything in exactly the same sense that a Christian could lose salvation. Had he not repented and confirmed his relationship with his Father, he would have lost it all. Biblically, breaking fellowship with God loses all the benefits of the abundant life Jesus promised. But breaking relationship with God according to The Epistles of John, James and the letter to the Hebrews, loses salvation permanently.
Breaking relationship is analogous to a traitor who betrays his country, and as penalty loses his citizenship permanently. Likewise, the kingdom of God is a spiritual country, a spiritual kingdom where spiritual treason loses everything permanently for God is just. It is also analogous to a father during Bible times disowning a son making the son lose everything permanently for the inheritance has been redistributed to the rest of the siblings and he no longer has any right to carry the name of the family nor the father. Similarly, the Bible talks many times of our Father and child of God relationship. Yes, we break the relationship, we lose everything. God is love, yes, BUT God is also just, shows no partiality and is faithful and consistent with the declarations in his word. His love met the requirements of justice once at the cross. But presently and in the future, justice will prevail over love because the writer of Hebrews declares that there is no sacrifice provided at the cross for shaming the name of Christ.
When the prodigal declared, "I will go to my father...", he made the first step toward restoration of fellowship as he confirmed the relationship he had with his father. When he told his father to no longer treat him as a son but he would be content to be treated as one of the hired servants, his sincere humility showed remorse and repentance bringing him back to the good graces of the father who really NEVER LOST his love for the son. Our relationship with God operates EXACTLY the same way. If not, then the Bible is useless in giving us illustrations.
The older son, on the other hand, never broke his ties with his father. Unfortunately, the parable clearly tells us that he did not really have intimate fellowship with his father because he did not know his father that well. He turned out to be completely ignorant of all the benefits and rights of his sonship. The father told the son, "All I have is yours!" and all this time he did not know!
However, the biggest tragedy was declared by the father himself, "Son, you are always with me". The biggest tragedy for the Christian is to claim to be in Christ but to know little or nothing of the Christ nor the heavenly Father nor the Holy Spirit. This Christian is like a man who owns land but is living hand to mouth on farming or gardening when there is in fact a gold mine or a huge reservoir of oil underneath the ground he owns.
Most Christians are like that. They want to be known as Christians but do not even know the basics of what the Bible says about love, righteousness and judgment. They desire to know the will of God but do not bother to open their Bibles daily. They think they have faith but do not know that true Bible faith only comes by hearing the word of God because they never study the word of God. This is one who claims to be a Christian but is really a slave to sin instead of a slave to righteousness. This is one who thinks he is saved because of his own opinion but is really lost and condemned if he knew the Bible and its requirements!
Hopefully, if you are reading this, you life is in no way similar to neither of these two problematic sons.
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