Most of us know the wonderful parable in Luke 15:11-32, in which Jesus describes a forgiving father to teach about God’s forgiveness. Buck Griffith, who runs the most wonderful prison ministry in the world today, has a 21st-century version of that parable in a booklet published by Unbound Word (www.unboundword.com). He picks up the story when the prodigal son returns to the father’s house. It’s a story of the forgiveness deficit in the 21st century:
“The prodigal son dragged himself to his father’s house and knocked on the door. A servant answered. The son told him that he was the younger son and to tell his father he was home. The servant had him wait at the door while he went to tell the father about the ragged and wasted man at the door. Upon learning that the intruder claimed to be his son, the father told the servant ‘that man cannot possibly be my son. If you look out this window, you see my only son who is hard at work. I once had another boy, but he demanded his inheritance. I gave it to him under great stress. It nearly caused me to go bankrupt. He took his money, and he wasted it. Now, as far as we are concerned, he is dead. Now go back and tell the imposter at the door – whoever he is – I have only one son. If the imposter is not gone within ten minutes, we will turn the dogs loose on him.’”
Read the parable in Luke 15 again and tell me which version of the story fits our world today? Each of us needs to ask what our attitude would be if we faced the situation Luke 15 describes. How do we react to the contriteness of another – even a family member – who has wounded us in some way. Is there a forgiveness deficit in your life?