In one family, children are often quite different. One son may be wilful, selfish and fun-loving, another son may be hard working, dutiful and a stay-at-home. This was the situation in the parable that we will be considering. "A certain man had two sons." The man is not named, neither are the sons described by age or by any other distinguishing features - in fact it is indicative of a very common situation; there are many families which have two sons, two who are utterly dissimilar in character and lifestyle.

The storyline develops as follows;

"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. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything." (Luke 15:11-16)

The scene is easily imagined; initially it is what many a teenager would like to do - spend, spend, spend - without too much regard for the consequences. Some try it; the family is too repressive, the rules too constricting, the expectations too high and the son throws caution to the wind and travels. This is the outcome in this story - disaster, despair and in desperation he returns home.

"But when he came to himself, he said 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.' And he arose and came to his father." (Luke 15:17-20)

What an admission! What a confession to admit failure! What a crisis of self confidence and yet in the admission of need he allowed the possibility of return to the family fold, of acceptance without recrimination, of forgiveness without being subjected to a total loss of self esteem.

"But when he was still a great way of, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet and bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry: for this my son was dead and is alive again: was lost and is found." (Luke 15:21-24)

Whatever the son had done, whatever losses he had incurred, whatever deeds he had become involved in were seen by the Father to be utterly irrelevant. The fact remained that he loved his son and so he welcomed him back home. The son had been lost, as good as dead and now he had returned - alive, as if resurrected from the grave.

Meanwhile the elder brother returns from his daily labours and is angry with his father for all the festivities in honour of his brother who had squandered part of the family fortune. There is a mixture of anger, jealousy and resentment in his comments, only partially placated by the father's reply; "For your brother was dead and is alive again; was lost and is found." (verse 32)

The story is compelling and realistic, its characters as clear today as when first described; the father - rich, indulgent, kindly and forgiving. The younger son; selfish and headstrong but honest and realistic. The older brother - reliable and hardworking but arrogant and unforgiving. The storyline is undated and relevant to the modern world just as it was two thousand years ago. But what is its meaning? I am sure Jesus didn't tell an interesting story just to entertain the crowds. No, there is a hidden meaning implicit within the story;

Jesus was talking to the despised of the country; the drop-outs, the malcontents, the collaborators with the Romans as well as to the educated leaders who criticised him for his contact with such socially deprived people. Jesus responds by telling his critics a series of parables about 'saving that which is lost', of which 'The Lost Son' is the longest and most memorable.

The key to the parable is in identifying the characters. Let me suggest the following;

The Father	=	God
The younger son	=	Anyone who has gone astray from father's teaching
The elder brother	=	The religious, committed follower of father's instructions

The message is clear; whatever you have done, however far you have strayed from the moral teaching of God, return to him for he will warmly welcome you back to his family. However, if you are already committed, as an obedient and faithful disciple, take care lest you become intolerant and unforgiving of those who are also seeking salvation.

Let us not forget that in heaven, there is great rejoicing over the sinner that repents of his selfish ways, a rejoicing epitomised in the phrase, "Let us rejoice, for this my son was dead and is alive, was lost and is found."

The principle of forgiveness should characterise the life of the disciple. In the parable, Jesus is declaring that God will forgive all if the individual shows remorse, that as soon as anyone declares his need for forgiveness, God is willing to forgive. All that is required is a repentant sinner! If that is true of our Heavenly Father shouldn't that be also true for each of us with respect to our fellow men and women? The Apostle John states the situation very clearly;

"lf someone says, 'I love God, 'and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love his God whom he has not seen?" (1 John 4:20)

We should always accept repentance from another especially from other believers. We should always seek to forgive, to the extent of wiping the memory of the wrongdoing from our minds. Remember - to forgive is to forget forever!