“the younger son gathered all he had and journeyed into a distant country.” (Luke 15:13)
Most people have never been taught how to love in a meaningful relationship, let alone parenting. Children initially find their examples of love and parenting in their respective homes. Perhaps I should say in their respective environments, for children today there can be such diversification in experiencing love and parenting. You have single parents, multiple parents, divorced parents and estranged parents and each case has the undeniable traceable blueprint of their specific scenario embedded into their children. Some good – some bad. Numerous children upon adolescence declare… “I don’t ever want to have children and if I am unfortunate enough to have any…I certainly won’t bring them up like my parents did me!”
Where have we heard that before?
Over the years history has revealed that the climate in the home has major influence on children. Whether the home environment though is rich or poor, happy and loving, drunken and physically abusing, religious or atheist, virtuous or molesting, educated or illiterate, encouraging or demeaning, each child can still choose. Choose to rise above it or sink into depravity. Good homes produce as many murderers and criminals as poor homes or bad underprivileged homes. And surprisingly enough, some of the world’s most influential leaders have come from the poorest of the poor homes.
An individual’s starting point in life is not a determining factor in who they’ll become or what they’ll achieve. Poverty has been the driving motivator behind some of today’s wealthiest people, greatest sports stars and theatrical celebrities.
In the case of the prodigal, his father was an entrepreneur and expected his son to follow in the same goal setting lifestyle as himself…The father implemented his training for his son in a very unforgiving field – namely cereal cropping and animal husbandry. Everything regimented on account of the various seasons for planting the crops and the cycles of the livestock and the young man’s heart just wasn’t in it at all.
The father would dream about developing his property into greater measures of productivity even while he slept and the first thing in the morning he experienced such joy and excitement in living his dream. The prodigal however had nightmares at night about his father’s expectations and in the morning was drowning in despair and on top of all this he had to deal with the rivalry of his elder brother.
“Father, I just can’t live here any longer, I can’t breathe… let alone express myself. I’m going to find my own expression and dream.”
The father totally taken aback…
“I can’t understand why you can’t understand what a great opportunity I’m giving you and that everything that’s produced here is for the family’s posterity long after I’m gone.”
Pain now rips the father’s heart as he watches helplessly his youngest son disappearing out of sight in pursuit of his own place in life whilst his mind is left to wrestle with the question…
“…How have I failed my son?”
Let’s Pray:
Your child no more, an abhorrence has filled the void…unable to express the pain the thought provokes – I pray God will enable you to let all your emotional pain go to Him and receive this very moment the release of this massive burden and receive God’s healing restoration and love in Jesus’ Name! Amen.
