Prodigal Son

   A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living (Luke 15:11-13)

       Why did the younger son leave his father's house? Living in the family home in the presence of his father, he had the impression that his father restricted his freedom. At times, adapting to his family's rules was a heavy burden and a painful yoke for him. He wanted to live differently, he wanted to do what he couldn't do at his father's house. It seemed to him that outside his father's home he would be able to lead a life without the restrictions that disturbed him so much, but at the same time he would meet with the same love and understanding. The atmosphere of his family home seemed natural to him, and he could not imagine that relationships between people could be different than those he knew. He did not know how it is when a person is treated as an object that can be thrown away when it is useless. He underestimated what he got every day at his father's house. He underestimated the love that surrounded him and the interest in his life. He thought that he would be treated in the same way everywhere.

      When he left home and started living alone in a foreign country, he thought he was in a place that was like his family home, but here he could do whatever he wanted. He found friends, who were kind and cordial to him, but when he ran out of money, their friendship ended. He found that the new surroundings accepted him not because of what kind of man he was, but because of his wealth. He began to see the difference between his father's house and the place where he lived now. In this foreign country he could get what he desired, but only if he gave what people in this place expected from him. In this world, friendship and interest in him were conditional, and when he ceased to fulfil this condition, he was rejected by this world. This young man began to look at his father differently. He stopped associating his father with someone who restricts him and does not allow him to enjoy life. A new image of his father began to form in his mind, the image of someone who loves him unconditionally. He also began to understand better the principles by which this world functions. He became convinced that life according to the rules of this world is based on selfishness, that this world only wants to take without selflessly giving anything. He understood that living in his father's home is based on love that selflessly gives everything and unconditionally satisfies all real needs.

   The prodigal son now remembered all these situations when his father helped him without demanding anything from him. And he also began better to understand the real reason, why he abandoned his family home. He understood that he was driven by selfishness and a desire to satisfy his own lusts. Once he didn't see anything wrong with it, but now he understood what it leads to. Now he also knew how much he hurt his father when he decided to leave home, because with this decision he really rejected his father's love. And deep in his heart he knew, that he not only still loves his father, but that he began to love him even more. His assessment of what he once considered a limitation of his freedom had changed. Now he would gladly adapt to these principles to show his father his gratitude and love and felt the need to do so. Now his desire was to live next to his father, because he knew how much his father loved him. He knew that with his selfish decision he touched his father very hard, but he also knew that his father still loved him and wanted him to come back. So, he decided to return, but he did not care about regaining his previous position in the family home. He could become the smallest servant of his father, just to live next to him and for him. He rejected his pride, turned away from what he liked so recently, humbled himself and returned to his father.

It is very important in this parable that the prodigal son did not really love his father when he left home. He was selfish and loved himself above all. He did not understand what true love was at the time and did not really know his father. The experiences he went through opened his eyes and he learned the truth. And when he learned the truth, he also understood who his father was, he loved him sincerely and with all his heart. He gave up his life in a foreign country, not because he had nowhere to live and was hungry, but because he wanted to live next to the one he loved with all his heart.

      Love for his father changed him and he became a new man, he was born again. This change meant that he ceased to associate life in his father's house with unpleasant restrictions. Now he was completely satisfied with all the rules in his father's house, they became nice to him, and compliance with them became something natural to him.

This is the case with everyone who has truly known God and loved Him. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3). How many of us think that we know and love God, yet in some situations feel obedience to God as an unpleasant yoke and a heavy burden? If such feelings arise in me, it means that I know God just as the prodigal son knew his father before leaving his family home. And that means I don't really know God or love Him. Jesus said that his yoke is easy, and the burden is light, so if I feel it differently, it means that Jesus has not lived in me yet, and my thoughts, feelings and desires are not like His.

If this is the case, then I can't change it, clenching my teeth and forcing myself to do things that I know are good, but I don't feel like when I’m doing them. The only way out for me is to keep looking for Jesus to finally get to know him well enough to love him. Only then will I stop being like a prodigal son and become a son, a true household member of the Father's house.

We are all born as prodigal sons (or daughters) and the only chance to change is to really know God and love Him. To know the truth, each of us must go through the experience of the prodigal son. Without this experience, we are like the prodigal son before leaving home. The truth is available to us, but we don't want to see it because we are not interested in it. We may think that we know and love God, but our wrong decisions, even the smallest ones, are the best proof of this. They show that we are more interested in satisfying our lusts and more willingly choose what this world gives us than what God gives us. These things seem more interesting and attractive to us. We also believe that thanks to them we will be happier and more satisfied. However, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman: „Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14). The treasures of this world are not able to satisfy the desire of the soul. They can give a momentary feeling of satisfaction, but it passes quickly and the desire returns. The prodigal son realized this before he lost all his property. Those who want to satisfy their egoistic desires, no matter what they are, find out about it. They simply can't be satisfied. Only satisfying the desire to accept what comes from God does not bring back feelings of lack and emptiness, because it is associated with the need to share these gifts. The prodigal son also became aware of this, but he did not fully recognize this feeling until he returned to his family home and began to live in harmony with his father's principles.

    Each of us is born as a prodigal son, but that does not mean that this state cannot change. But do we want this to happen?