The story of the prodigal son is perhaps the best-known parable in the Bible. The themes of forgiveness and reconciliation tap into the longings of all who are broken over sin. Yet, so much more than that, Christ’s parable conveys critical and wonderful eternal truths that He intends for us to know and stake our futures on.
The father in the parable is a figure of Christ. He is the one who bears the sinner’s reproach, invites repentant sinners to come to Him for rest, and embraces all who do come. He said, “The one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). There is an endless supply of mercy with Him. We can go boldly before Him and obtain mercy and grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). He replaces the rotten rags of our sin with the perfect robe of His own righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). He offers forgiveness, honor, authority, respect, responsibility, full access to all His riches, and the full right to pray in His name.
The father’s eagerness to forgive reveals to us something about the divine perspective of redemption. Christ is not a reluctant Savior. God the Father Himself is not the least bit reserved in extending mercy to penitent sinners. That’s why 2 Corinthians 5:20 describes the Christian’s role in bringing the gospel message to sinners as begging, pleading, urging people to be reconciled to God. We deliver that message, according to the apostle Paul, “on Christ’s behalf” (NKJV)—as His ambassadors, speaking with His authority and declaring the message He Himself has issued for the benefit of all sinners everywhere.
Those facts, combined with the imagery in the parable of the prodigal son, picture God as almost impatient in His eagerness to forgive sinners. He runs to embrace. He showers the returning sinner with affection and kisses. He quickly calls for the robe, the ring, and the shoes. His justification is full and immediate—a finished reality, not merely an ethereal goal for the sinner to work toward.
God’s own joy is overflowing every time one sinner returns.
There’s an effort afoot in these postmodern times, even within some quarters of evangelicalism, to downplay the significance of personal redemption and the promise of heaven for individual believers. I keep hearing the suggestion that perhaps we have missed the real point of the gospel—that maybe it’s not so much about the forgiveness of this or that person’s sins, but it’s all about bringing the kingdom of God to earth here and now. And so, we’re told, Christians should be less concerned about their own personal redemption and more concerned about redeeming our culture or solving the large-scale dilemmas of our times, such as pandemics, racism, global warming, poverty, the marginalization of disenfranchised people, or whatever happens to be the next media-obsessing crisis.
Earthly suffering is indeed an important issue for Christians. We need to care for the poor, minister to the sick and needy, comfort those who are suffering, and defend those who are genuinely oppressed.
But notice that the divine joy Jesus talks about in Luke 15 is not unleashed because some great social problem in the world has finally been solved. Heaven’s inhabitants are not waiting breathlessly to see whether the earth’s environment can survive the effects of burning fossil fuels. The joy Jesus described is not currently suppressed under some divinely decreed moratorium until all the world’s suffering can finally be eliminated. Nor is the start of the heavenly celebration on hold until a widespread revival at last breaks out somewhere.
All heaven rejoices “over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:7; emphasis added). Since there’s every reason to believe that individual sinners are being redeemed somewhere in the world all the time, day in and day out, it seems safe to assume that the celebration in heaven never stops. All heaven is filled with a consummate, undiluted, and unspeakable joy. Best of all, that joy is constant and never-ending.
That is why God also commands His people here on earth to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4) and “rejoice evermore” (1 Thessalonians 5:16, NIV).
God’s compassion on His sinful creatures is humanly incomprehensible. There is nothing in us—in our fallen state—that warrants the slightest degree of mercy or forgiveness. And yet, our Creator is raring to pour out His lavish kindness on every penitent sinner who comes to Him. Christ’s promise from two thousand years ago is as true today as it was back then, and it will continue to hold true for as long as His final judgment tarries: “The one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37).
