The prodigal son (1) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
Luke 15:11-13

The prodigal son (1)
Many people know the parable of the prodigal son: how he wasted his inheritance through riotous living and became a swineherd. The pre-history is of great significance. It started with his turning away from his father, under whose eyes he felt uneasy. He sought the freedom to do as he liked. By asking for his share of the inheritance he showed how far the estrangement went. For him his father was as good as dead.

It is not everyone who resembles the prodigal son in his dissolute way of life. But regarding the pre-history, we are all like him. The relevant sin here is that man avoids God's interference and turns his back on Him so as to lead his own life. Man wants to be autonomous, totally independent of God and His standards and will not admit of any restrictions. That makes the prodigal son a perfect illustration of man today.

And how does God react? Like the father in the parable, He grants him his free will. He allows us to use all that we owe to Him for our own selfish interests: our talents, our health and our possessions. God does so to make us realise from experience that a life apart from God is bitter and has consequences.

(to be continued on Thursday)

Today's reading: Jeremiah 40:13-41:10 · Romans 9:30-33