Parable of the Prodigal Son Continued, 11th Post.
The last part of this Parable, deals with the oldest son. He sometimes gets lost within this parable and is overlooked. As you remember, this son comes home after working in the fields all day and hears the sounds of celebration coming from the house. He asks a servant what is going on, it is then, that he finds out his younger brother has returned, and his father has killed the fatted calf for this celebration. The brother, instead of being glad that his younger brother is alive again, is upset because he is getting a party. The older brother stays outside, is angry and feels sorry for himself. The father has to come outside the house to try to console him and get him to join the party. The father demonstrates agape love again, but this time to the older son. Look how the son talks to his father, there is no respect there. The Father could have responded in like fashion, but Jesus is telling us this story, and He controls all of the elements of it. When the older son rebels here, he is guilty of the same sin that his younger brother committed. The only difference is he is on the other side of the spectrum. Rebellion is rebellion, no matter if you leave, or stay and live in a situation you feel is wrong. Rebellion, here is the older son's attitude. He felt that his father wronged him in giving his younger son his part of the inheritance early, the older son felt he had been robbed of some of his inheritance. He did not speak up before, but now when he sees that his brother has returned, he feels he will lose out again. This is what caused his anger. If we are honest with ourselves, we can see when we have been angry with our Heavenly Father, when He seems to have taken advantage of us or we don't wait until His plans have clearly been made known to us. It is at these times when we need to Trust in the Lord.
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