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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | How to treat am unrepentant Prodigal Son | Luke 15:11 | hwbags | 153809 | ||
Yes I did search for an answer before asking my question about the prodigal son. 10 years ago I married a widow with 2 boys and a girl. The two youngest accepted me with all of my faults and I was able to adopt both. The eldest however spent his childhood and teenage years trying to divide and conquer my wife and I. He refused my offer of adoption and any relationship with me. Because of a loophole in the social security system he was able to get 900 dollars a month during his senior year of High School. Four days after his grandfather bought him a truck, he left our home to live with his girlfriend. I refused to help him drive because he had used alcohol and simply was not mature enough for the responsibilites of driving a car. Not every one is at age 16 or 18. He parted company with his girlfriend after 6 short weeks of living together. As with the prodigal Son of Luke 15 he quickly spent his inheritance and went to live in a distant country (with his grandfather). Now he is about to return to our neighborhood. A Christian counselor has supported my view that the prodigal needs to repent before he can come back to our home and participate in family activities. I have urged my wife to have weekly contact with him, off of our property, to let him know that he is loved and we are ready for the reconciliation that follows repentance. Other family members are not supporting my view. Just how should a prodigal like this be treated? |
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2 | How to treat am unrepentant Prodigal Son | Luke 15:11 | Moosey | 153810 | ||
In reference to “your son,” I’m not speaking of legal adoption. Carefully note the role of the father in Philippians 15. He longed for the son to return. He was longing so deeply that he kept watch for the return. How deeply in your heart do you want the return of your wayward son? Your son has made undesirable choices, same as in the parable. However, the father in the parable wanted, longed for the return of the son. Verse 20: the father saw the son and had compassion for him. How much compassion do you have in your heart for your wayward son? Even though this young man rejected you, you’re still responsible for your actions and your heart. Do you have compassion for him? Do you have a “deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.” Your son suffered a deep hurt, the loss of his biological father. Even though he chose to act out the hurt in an unhealthy manner, the hurt is still there. Do you have the desire to help him face the hurt and be healed? What did the father do when he reached the son? He embraced the son and kissed him. This forgiving father willingly reached out to physically touch the returning son. The Scripture doesn’t say the son cleaned up nor had taken a bath. He fed pigs - a not so clean job. This son was physically and spiritually dirty. At the point when the son left home, the father was aware of the son’s personality and behavior. When the father saw the son returning home, he didn’t know the son had made a decision to ask for repentance. For all he knew, the son was returning in the same condition he’d left in. Verse 21 tells us the son repented after the embrace. Are you willing to accept your son whether he has repented or not? I’m not talking about accepting the sin of your son, but to accept him as a person. You’re the father figure in your son’s life, you’ve been for 10 years. Your son didn’t have the opportunity to know the continuing role of his biological father. God gave you the opportunity to demonstrate what a father should be. The only father/son relationship he can know is through you. You state he refused to have a relationship with you. What about you? Did you refuse to have a relationship with him? Did you learn what he was about so you could relate to him in a way that would meet his needs and lead him to know the behavior of the Heavenly Father? Did you desire to relate to him so badly that you were willing to pursue activities or events that weren’t your preferred choice but would afford you the opportunity to touch your son because you showed him you cared? As adults at times we want to form relationships based on our likes and preferred activities. Maybe you tried to reach him and he still rejected. That doesn’t give you the OK to stop trying. Verse 20 doesn’t say the Mother ran to the son. The father took the initiative. It’s your responsibility to so relate to your son that when he sees you, he sees Jesus. Then when he sees Jesus, he will see and know his life is unholy and unacceptable to God. It won’t be because you tell him his behavior is inappropriate, it will happen because he sees Jesus. If your son has already asked Christ into his life, your actions and behavior will still provide the same opportunity. Either way, it’s your responsibility. Will it be easy? Absolutely not! Is any relationship-building process easy? We always have to do something consistently to have a correct relationship. Is it worth it? To say no will put yourself in disobedience to the Heavenly Father. No spiritually-healthy, God-seeking follower wants to be disobedient. Think of your son as a ministry from God. Pray consistently for yourself and your relationship with the Heavenly Father. He’ll lead you, guide you and give you words to say and actions to do. As to letting him into your home and participating in family activities, how else will he see how a godly family behaves? What an awesome opportunity! This doesn’t mean he can have unlimited reign. We’re godly families because we recognize the boundaries God has set for us. We recognize He wants to protect us from Satan. We move freely within those boundaries. It’s our responsibility (and pleasure) to do so. When we learn the boundaries, we don’t desire to go outside them. We know there are consequences to pay. All sin brings consequences. Your son needs to be shown this. When he’s in your home and around your family, he can learn from your family’s actions. He can also know there are consequences when he moves outside the God-given boundaries. I called this an opportunity because not only will you be nurturing your wayward son, but you’ll be a living example of the loving Father for your wife and other children. You’re blessed to have this awesome opportunity. You’re not in this alone. God is faithful and I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. |
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3 | How to treat am unrepentant Prodigal Son | Luke 15:11 | Moosey | 153811 | ||
Oops, I didn't mean Philippians 15, I meant to say Luke 15. Sorry | ||||||