Prodigal/Prodigal
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Ephesians 2:1-10
1. And you he made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins 2. in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. 3. Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, 5. even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6. and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7. that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God -- 9. not because of works, lest any man should boast. 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
I have long been interested in the story of the prodigal son. I have shared with others that in my life I have lived the role of both brothers in the story, in terms of my relationship with God. You may be thinking that I intended to discuss another scripture, and accidentally posted Ephesians! But these verses really make my point for me, so I’ll share them with you this morning. In my fascination with the story of the prodigal, I have focused the least on the father in the story. As a loving parent, I haven’t really paid much attention to the father, as I would also welcome back to myself a child who had gone astray, and now returned.
But there is so much more to that story! I realized recently that I didn’t actually know the definition of ‘prodigal!’ When I looked it up in the dictionary, I was quite surprised! And this is why: According to the The
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition prod•i•gal (pr d -g l) adj. 1. Rashly or wastefully extravagant: prodigal expenditures on unneeded weaponry; a prodigal life. 2. Giving or given in abundance; lavish or profuse: prodigal praise.
The 2nd definition is what Paul is describing to the Ephesians. He’s explaining that even though we, as mere humans, continue to be prodigal in how we live our lives, and in how we--over and over again,reject the abundant blessing of grace granted to us, we belong to a prodigal God who lavishly and abundantly loves us!
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the paradox of this definition! I think that this one word describes man vs. God/God vs. man! We have been saved by God’s grace, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. God already had us in mind a long, long time ago! And he had a plan for us, and a way to get to heaven. And when we failed to live up to our side of the bargain – he gave us a new one! An even better deal – free, unearned—unearnable,
prodigal grace!
There. I’ve gotten it out of my system! Are you rashly or wastefully extravagant with this life God has given you—planned out for you before time began? The prodigal nature of our God is such that it’s okay if you answered “yes!” Because God loves us so very much, that he just can’t stand to be without us – any of us. So he gave us a way to get to Him—not of our own accord, not on our steam – but through Christ. The first definition in the dictionary is listed first only because of usage – but the 2nd one is the one that really matters! If we could picture God, His picture would be there!
I hope today that you repent of your prodigal nature, and run to your prodigal God, joyously accepting the lavish, abundant life he promises us. And that you’ll pause for a moment to imagine a father who loves both the older and the younger son.
Mary
