Exploring Our Prodigal-ness Part 4

 

This week, we are beginning to enter and explore the Parable of the Prodigal-ness that is our life.  We have drawn our family trees with those who share our DNA and friends who know us better than we know ourselves.  We have reflected on the fact that there are lost years in between verses 11 and 12 that we are more than glad to fill in with our own assumptions.  And then, we land on verse 13 ~ “Not long after (the younger son received his share of the inheritance), he got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.” 

My internal Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg immediately loves to say, “Guilty as charged!  Book ‘em Dano!”  My internal prosecutor cries out, “What more evidence do we need?  Kids today are so entitled…not like when I was younger and had to walk to school in the snow uphill both ways.”  And you probably already know that I am going to say that these conclusions say more about us than they do about the point Jesus was trying to make.  Maybe you wanted to travel the world or go away to school but stayed close to home to care for mom and dad.  Maybe you know that deep down we have all squandered parts of our lives, we have all made boneheaded decisions that we regret, we have all had moments of letting our hair down and praying that no one finds out.  When has the younger son been your story?  When did you do something that you wish you had not done?  Daniel Pink in his book, “The Power of Regret” defines and describes four kinds of things that happen in our life, where our story shares the younger son’s story.  Those are:

Foundational regrets around education, finance, and health.  Times we have overspent and under saved.  When we didn’t live up to our hopes or pursue an educational opportunity.  Or have sought solace in the drive thru of our favorite fast food restaurant.  Second, there are moral regrets where we took the low road, did something we are not proud of, or compromised on our values.  Third are connections regrets when we failed to honor the people who matter.  Or we lost touch with friends or family.  These are relationships that have frayed or fizzled or faded and we long to rekindle.  Finally, there are boldness regrets that we didn’t dare to dive into an opportunity when the door was opened to us.  Do you start to sense where your story might connect to the younger son’s story here?  Does one of those regrets leap off the page/screen to a place in your soul you usually don’t talk about?  I pray this day, we might not hold the younger son at a distance or judge him as being less-than, but open our hearts to see the beautiful wandering off we have all done ~ physically, emotionally, and spiritually in our lives.  Amen.