That Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." Ah the brilliance of Inigo Montoya. Most of us have either been in Inigo's position or Vizzini's. A word gets used, but maybe we're not exactly using it correctly. After all, when someone says, "I could care less..." there actually saying the opposite of what they mean.

There's a word kind of like that that we have thrown around for centuries in regard to one of Jesus' stories, but it's nowhere in the actual story, & the way we've used it has actually hurt the meaning of the word. That word is "prodigal." It's a famous word because it's in the Bible, & it has made it's way into our culture, but very few people even know what it means, but if they did, it may make a big difference in how we understand Jesus' parable. If you were to ask someone on the street what "prodigal" means, you'd probably get responses like "rebellious", "runaway", or "wild child". But that word doesn't mean what you think it means, & it doesn't really apply to who you think it does.

"Prodigal" means "extravagant, reckless, lavish", & in the story Jesus told we assume that it applies primarily to the younger son who ran away from home & wasted his inheritance on wild living before he had to humbly come home. The truth however is far more complicated & more beautiful. You see that son was prodigal. He was reckless. He did live extravagantly, but when the money ran out, & he came home what he found was a far more extravagant, reckless, & lavish father than he could have predicted. Instead of being shunned or run off the property because of the dishonor he had brought on the family, the father welcomed him home, restored his place in the family, & threw a lavish party to celebrate. And Jesus uses that story to illustrate the graphic, extravagant, reckless, & costly grace that God has extended to us.

You & I have sinned lavishly, reckless, & extravagantly. The human heart has devised some ingenious ways to dishonor & rebel against God. However, when that rebellion or self-righteousness leaves us empty & we're brought to a place of repentance, what we find is that our extravagant sin is met with even more extravagant grace. Paul tells us in Romans 5 that "where sin increased, grace increased all the more." What that means is that no matter how rebellious or self righteous we are we are met with more than enough grace to cover the cost of our sin & restore us to our Heavenly Father.

"God Responds To Repentant Rebels & Pursues Religious Rebels With Reckless Grace."

In Jesus' parables both sons are cut off from their father. One is cut off by his rebellion, the other by his self righteousness. However, the father reaches out to both with reckless, extravagant, lavish, over the top grace. In Christ that same grace is being offered right now to all of us who've run away & chased our own path & to all of us who have tried to put God in our debt due to our own goodness. No matter which son you identify with, there's grace enough for us all if we will simply come back to the Father.