Taking a Risk

Taking a chance

Sometimes when I hear familiar passages from the Gospels, I think we've got it all wrong. For example, take the story of the Prodigal Son. It seems pretty straightforward. Squander your livelihood, and you'll end up crawling back begging for forgiveness.

 

Yet, having read this story for years, I’ve finally come to realize a different interpretation. I think the story is really about each one of us, and how God gives us an inheritance and sets us free to follow the desires of our hearts. The message is not that such adventure is sinful, but that not all adventures turn out right. Best of all, God does not expect us to get it right the first time. Instead, God waits for us every time. God is there when we need to return and think again. Furthermore, if the prodigal had never gone away and seen life from a different perspective, he would never have come to really know his father. Knowing that father took the honesty of acknowledging he'd made a mistake. And as the story so dramatically portrays, the Father didn't love him less for that, but more.

I sometimes think our tidied up religion keeps us from seeing the reality of life. We cannot live within a structure that keeps us from all harm. That isn't living; that is slavery. To venture forth means to deal with life as it really is, with choices that may not turn out well, and decisions that need revisiting. And at some point, we will find ourselves “robbed,” we will end up on a dead end road, and we will feel betrayed by what we thought was our own best selves. But that is not the end of story (like time now to crawl back and beg for forgiveness). As the story tells us, that is a part of our journey.

I know only too many who, for fear of making a mistake, continue in a false life. They live according to what others tell them, and do not risk change because it is an “unknown.” Such lives offer no challenges. They progress on "more of the same." A life with security, but no growth, where expectations can be met, and no surprise will throw them off guard. Yet, they are some of the most unhappy people I know.

The prodigal son took a chance at life. And in the end, he grew. What am I willing to chance for spiritual growth?

Reading the Prodigal with different eyes

Sometimes when I hear familiar passages from the Gospels, I think we've got it all wrong. For example, take the story of the Prodigal Son. It seems pretty straightforward. Squander your livelihood, and you'll end up crawling back begging for forgiveness.

Yet, I do not think that is the real interpretation we should get. I think the story is really about each one of us, and how God gives us an inheritance and sets us free to follow the desires of our hearts.  The message is not that such adventure is sinful, but that not all adventures are the right ones. Best of all, God does not expect us to get it right the first time. God instead is waiting for us every time we realize this path is not right for me, and I need to return and think again?

If the prodigal had not gone away and seen life from a different perspective, he would never have come to really know his father. Knowing that father took the honestly of acknowledging he'd made a mistake. And as the story so dramatically portrays, the Father didn't love him less for that, but more.

I sometimes think our tidied up religion keeps us from seeing the reality of life. We cannot live within a structure that keeps us from all harm. That isn't living; that is slavery. To venture forth means to deal with life as it really is, without pretense or false virtue. We will be robbed, we will be a victim at some point, and we will also betray our own best selves. But that is not the end of story (like time now to crawl back and beg). That is part of our journey.

I know only too many who, for fear of making a mistake, continue in a false life, where expectations can be met, and no surprise will throw them off guard. Yet, they are the most unhappy people I know.

The prodigal son took a chance at life. And in the end, he grew. What am I willing to chance for spiritual growth?

A Familiar Gospel in a Different Light

The Prodigal Son. Sometimes when I hear familiar passages from the Gospels, I think we've got it all wrong. We think, yea, that's pretty straightforward. Squander your livelihood, and you'll end up crawling back begging for forgiveness.

Yet, today listening to the Gospel being read, it suddenly occurred to me just how similar we all are to the prodigal. Not in the way we usually think: sinner who squanders=need for crawling. But in God giving us an inheritance and setting us free to follow the desires of our hearts. Who of us gets it right the first time? If the prodigal had not gone away and seen life from a different perspective, he would never have come to really know his father. Knowing that father took simply an acknowledgement that he'd made a mistake. According to the story, the Father didn't love him less for that.

I sometimes think our tidied up religion keeps us from seeing the reality of life. We cannot live within a structure that keeps us from all harm. That isn't living; that is slavery. To venture forth means to deal with life as it really is, without pretense or false virtue. We will be robbed, we will be a victim at some point, and also we will betray our own best selves. But that is not the end of story (like time now to crawl back and beg). That is just part of the journey.

I know only too many who, for fear of making a mistake, continue in a false life, where expectations can be met, and no surprise will throw them off guard. Yet, they are the most unhappy people I know.

The prodigal took a chance. And in the end, he grew. What are we willing to chance for spiritual growth?